La creación de los museos en España

Abstract

The renewal of the historiography of Spanish museums leads us to go beyond the simple history of their collections or even the study of the elites who created and directed them, in order to take into account the organization of this complex social artefact which is a museum. As a necessary prerequisite to the appearance of a museum, the notion of heritage was progressively created in Spain in the 18th century on the initiative of educated circles. This notion was created through discourses (Ponz', Bosarte's, Jovellanos') in which a historical approach progressively appeared allowing to relativize the esthetic criterion, but also through protection and preservation practices. The question of the access to and the judicial status of this heritage, however, didn't interest the Spanish elites much, that's why the expulsion of the Jesuits didn't lead to the creation of a museum with the available works of art. The modern notion of "museum" took root only with the War of Independence when Joseph Bonaparte justified his museum projects with the legitimate access of the audience to the national heritage; this argument progressively prevailed in the following years.