Konferensartikel

National Museums in Hungary

Visa mer +

Publicerad: 2011-09-30

ISBN:

ISSN: 1650-3686 (tryckt), 1650-3740 (online)

Abstract

The national museums in Hungary are relatively easy to define. The term covers a set of institutions connected to a structure of state owned; centrally financed institutions; which came into existence during a process of expansion and specialization of the collections of the original Hungarian National Museum. The Hungarian National Museum (1803) was founded with the idea to follow the model of imperial capital Vienna as well as other major European capitals as an institution to foster national culture and civilization in the Kingdom of Hungary; which its elite considered a largely independent cultural and political unit within the Habsburg Empire. The museum; hence; was meant to promote national identity and all its subsequent expansions and branches were considered parts of a homogenous national culture and erudition. Consequently; governments and elites ordinarily stressed their connection to the state and the importance of central funding.

Through a systematic exploration of the main turning points in its history; the current report addresses the foundation of the National Museum in Hungary; its implications for its further development; the structure of ownership; the history of its collections; the process of professionalization both in terms of staff skills and the generation of specialized museums. Besides; it follows the trajectories of the various identities – national; civic; historical; revolutionary and communist – these museums intended to shape.

The National Museum was founded in the early 19th century as a civic; aristocratic and middle class initiative. Originally; it was owned by the nation; governed by a board of trustees and supervised by the imperial administration via its Hungarian commissioner; the Palatinus (nádor in Hungarian). Its collections were enriched by various private donations coming from various segments of the society; such as aristocratic or middle class urban families.

Since the emergence of civil constitutional administration; 1848 in Hungary; the National Museum has been supervised by one of the ministries of the national government; regularly ministries of culture or education. It was considered an autonomous institution governed by a board and maintained by an endowment; but also benefited from state sponsorship up until 1949; the introduction of communist dictatorship. During the 1870s; a professional system of collection was developed. Professional art historians were responsible for acquisitions funded mostly by the state; whereas archaeologists were employed and excavations were sponsored. This led to the rapid expansion of collections and the foundations of specialized museums at the turn of the century: Museum of Natural History; Museum of Ethnography; Museum of Applied Arts; Museum of Fine Arts; National Gallery.

These museums together created the system of the Hungarian National Museum under various titles; thus transforming the original National Museum into a historical museum; as it was actually called in certain periods. The structure of the National Museum included the National Library and Archives until the end of WWII. In 1949; the National Museum and all the other specialized museums became state owned; state funded individual museums. They lost their autonomous governance; and received annual central funds. This institutional structure virtually remained in effect following 1989. The network of national museums are supervised by the Ministry of Culture or Education and governed and funded by the state.

Nyckelord

Inga nyckelord är tillgängliga

Referenser

Aradi; N. (ed.) (1978) Muvészet és felvilágosodás: Muvészettörténeti tanulmányok [Art and Enlightenment: Studies in the History of Art]; Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Muvészettörténeti Kutató Csoportjának kiadványa.

Czobor; Á. (ed.) (1971) A Szépmuvészeti Múzeum [The Museum of Fine Arts]; Budapest: Corvina.

Entz; G. (1937) A magyar mugyujtés történetének vázlata 1850-ig [The Outline of the History of Hungarian Collection Activities until 1850]; Budapest: Author’s publication.

Fodor; I.; Kovalovszki; J.; Kovács; T.; Lovag Z. and Tóth E. (1992) A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum [The Hungarian National Museum]; Budapest: Electa - Helikon.

Fejos; I. (1964) ‘A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum története 1802-1847’ [The History of the Hungarian National Museum 1802-1847]; Folia Archaeologica 16: 267-281.

—— (1965) ‘A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum története 1848-1944’ [The History of the Hungarian National Museum 1848-1944]; Folia Archaeologica 17: 285-301.

Fejos; I. and Korek; J. (1971) A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum története [The History of the Hungarian National Museum]; Budapest: Népmuvelési Propaganda Iroda.

Fülep; F. (ed.) (1977) A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum [The Hungarian National Museum]; Budapest: Corvina.

Gaál; P. (1996) ‘A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum épületének rekonstrukciója’ [The Reconstruction of the Building of the Hungarian National Museum]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Autumn 1996): 6-10.

Gedai; I. (1996) ‘Múlt és jövo’ [Past and Future]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Autumn 1996): 3-5.

Gergely; A. A. (ed.) (2002) A nemzet antropológiája: Hofer Tamás köszöntése [The Anthropology of the Nation]; Budapest: Új Mandátum.

Hofer; T. (ed.) (1996) Magyarok Kelet és Nyugat közt: a nemzettudat változó jelképei [Hungarians in Between East and West: Changing Symbols of National Identity]; Budapest: Néprajzi Múzeum – Balassi.

Ihász; I. (1996) ‘A túlélés évszázada (Magyarország 1900-1990)’ [The Century of Survival (Hungary 1900-1990)]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Autumn 1996): 40-42.

Kemenczei; Á. (1996)’ ”…megmentettem a Nemzeti Múzeumot…” Egy amerikai tábornok 1919-ben a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeumért’ [“…I saved the National Museum…”: An American General for the Hungarian National Museum]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Autumn 1996): 21-24.

Kerekes; A. et al. (eds) (2004) Leitha und Lethe: symbolische Räume und Zeiten in der Kultur Österreich-Ungarns; Tübingen: Francke.

Kolba; J. (1996) ‘Az államalapítástól a török kiuzéséig (XI-XVII. század)’ [From the Foundation of the State to the Driving Out of the Turks (11th-17th centuries)]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Autumn 1996): 36-38.

Kollányi; F. (1910) Az Akadémia és a Nemzeti Múzeum [The Academy and the National Museum]; Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia.

Korek; J. (1965) ‘A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum története 1945-1964’ [The History of the Hungarian National Museum 1945-1964]; Folia Archaeologica 17: 303-330.

Zoltán Korsós – Horváth; C. (1996) ‘A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum rövid története’ [A Brief History of the Hungarian Natural History Museum]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Winter 1996): 5-9.

Kovács; Á. (ed.) (1991) Monumentumok az elso háborúból [Monuments from the First Great War]; Budapest: Corvina.

Körmöczi; K. (1996) ‘A török háborúk végétol a milleniumig (XVIII-XIX. század)’ [From the End of the Turkish Wars to the Millennium (18th-19th centuries)]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Autumn 1996): 38-40.

Lovag; Z. (1997) ‘Száz eves az Iparmuvészeti Múzeum’ [The 100 Years Old Museum of Applied Arts]; Magyar Múzeumok 3 (Spring 1997): 41-43.

Mányi; I. (1996) ‘A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum újjászületése a Ludovika Akadémia épületében’ [The Rebirth of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in the Building of the Ludoviceum]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Winter 1996): 10-12.

Museum Hungaricum: A Nemzeti Gyujtemények elintézése feltételei [The Conditions of Arrangement of the National Collections]; (Buda; 1807).

Pataky; D. (1996) ‘Nyílt level Széchenyi Bertalan gróf úrhoz. Gondolatok egy kiállítás belsoépítészeti tervérol’ [Open Letter to Count Bertalan Széchenyi: Thoughts on the Interior Design of an Exhibition]; Magyar Múzeumok 2 (Autumn 1996): 33-35.

Rados; J. and Zádor; A. (1943) A klasszicizmus építészete Magyarországon [The Architecture of Classicism in Hungary]; Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia.

Selmeczi Kovács; A. (1997) ‘Fejezetek a Néprajzi Múzeum történetébol’ [Chapters in the History of the Museum of Ethnography]; Magyar Múzeumok 3 (Autumn 1997): 13-20.

Szalay; I. (1902) A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum alapítása és fejlodése [The Foundation and Development of the Hungarian National Museum]; Budapest: Hornyánszky Viktor császári és királyi udvari könyvnyomdája.

Szinyei Merse; A. (ed.) (1993) Magyar Nemzeti Galéria [Hungarian National Gallery]; Budapest: Corvina.

Zádor; A. (1935) Építészeti tervek a 18. századból [Architectural Plans from the 18th Century]; Budapest: Franklin; 1935.

—— (1961) A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum [The Hungarian National Museum]; Budapest: Képzomuvészeti Alap Kiadóvállalata.

—— (ed.) (1993) A historizmus muvészete Magyarországon: muvészettörténeti tanulmányok [The Art of Historicism in Hungary: Studies in the History of Art]; Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Muvészettörténeti Kutató Intézet.

Citeringar i Crossref