u003cpu003eu003c/pu003ennnIn the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the first modern, public nmuseums of art—civic, state, or national—appeared throughout Europe, setting a nstandard for the nature of such institutions that has made its influence felt to nthe present day. Although the emergence of these museums was an international ndevelopment, their shared history has not been systematically explored until nnow. Taking up that project, this volume includes chapters on fifteen of the nearliest and still major examples, from the Capitoline Museum in Rome, opened in n1734, to the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, opened in 1836. These essays consider a nnumber of issues, such as the nature, display, and growth of the museums’ ncollections and the role of the institutions in educating the public. nu003cbru003enThe introductory chapters by art historian Carole Paul, the volume’s neditor, lay out the relationship among the various museums and discuss their nevolution from private noble and royal collections to public institutions. In nconcert, the accounts of the individual museums give a comprehensive overview, nproviding a basis for understanding how the collective emergence of public art nmuseums is indicative of the cultural, social, and political shifts that mark nthe transformation from the early-modern to the modern world. The fourteen ndistinguished contributors to the book include Robert G. W. Anderson, former ndirector of the British Museum in London; Paula Findlen, Ubaldo Pierotti nProfessor of Italian History at Stanford University; Thomas Gaehtgens, director nof the Getty Research Institute; and Andrew McClellan, dean of academic affairs nand professor of art history at Tufts University.nnnShow more nShow less u003cpu003eu003c/pu003e