Les arts précolombiens au Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Hubert, Erell Pimentel, Víctor
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	Adopting an anthropological approach to collections, this article situates the pre-Columbian collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts within its historical and social context. Numbering over 1,150 objects produced by more than fifty different Latin American cultures, the MMFA’s collection of pre-Hispanic works of art is one of the largest in Canada. Close to a century of acquisitions led to its current composition, and it therefore offers a unique window onto collecting practices in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Several curators, donors, and art dealers had a major impact on its creation and development. These individuals, far from being neutral, were—and continue to be—influenced by their social, political, and economic context, by their personal and professional networks, and by their own personal interests. Punctuated by great periods of acquisitions, the history of the pre-Columbian collection of the MMFA is inseparable from Montreal’s history and from the transformation of the art market. The present contextualization of the collection is part of a larger effort to reassert the value of this exceptional group of objects and to heighten public awareness of the importance of protecting cultural heritage by working toward greater transparency by museums regarding the origins of the works they harbour.
Starting Page	7
Ending Page	21
Page Count	15
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.7202/1020791ar
Volume Number	38
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/racar/2013-v38-n2-racar01023/1020791ar.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/racar/2013-v38-n2-racar01023/1020791ar.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.7202/1020791ar
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article