Entre o sagrado e o profano: práticas museológicas de iniciativa eclesiástica

Abstract

Western art is largely determined by the Christian model and also the history of museums can be told through the sponsorship of the Catholic Church: medieval ecclesiastical treasures, Renaissance private collections, cabinets of curiosities and, finally, art and religion museums. The appearance of the first museums is simultaneous to the first incursion of the religious objects in the exhibition space. In art museums, even though created by the initiative of the Church, the subject was considered by its artistic value, obliterating other symbolic content. In the museum of religion, this collection tends to organize itself according to liturgical or devotional function. Nowadays, it’s the context, the function and its meanings that matters as the material, formal and historical elements. The actual museums are concerned about the exhibition of their immaterial terms, re-contextualizing the object in reference to its past sacred functions.