Continuità, rotture, permeabilità? Questioni di storia culturale e di display nel collezionismo borghese della Belle Epoque

Using as a prism of interpretation the evolution of the collection of Japanese art as¬sembled in the second half of the Nineteenth century by Clémence Lecarpentier Des¬granges d’Ennery (1823-1898), the text investigates the aesthetic, symbolic and dis¬play’s transitions that accompanied, during the Belle Époque, the metamorphosis of a private collection in private space to public museum. Phenomena of continuity, per¬meability and rupture from the past permeate collecting practices of a “bourgeoisie” particularly inclined to the decorative arts, still seduced by aristocratic models and at the same time aware of the ethical value of bequeathing a collection to the state. Clémence d’Ennery’s house-museum is exemplary of many criticisms often brought to this museum category: the accusation of a confused narrative of art principles and a collecting space useless for the advancement of a national taste that, according to the thinking of the time, should have been based on rational historical criteria and positive educational experiences.