Bruining, C.T.W.
(2020)
“In Pursuit of the Unorthodox”.
Master thesis, M Religion and Cultural Heritage.
Abstract
In the world of museums, there is one kind that stands out: the house- museum. In these museums, there is a tension between the domestic and the public. In this thesis, the house-museum of English Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837) is viewed in light of the rise of the public art museum in the early nineteenth century. The study analyses the Grand Tour as a significant influence on Soane’s collection and display, and uses Henri Lefebvre’s spatial theory to analyse the basement space of the museum. Our main questions are: How was the collection at Sir John Soane’s Museum acquired, how was it recontextualised, and how is it displayed? How did this shape early museum practice?
To answer these questions, after the first chapter, which gives an overview of the existing research on the subject, we take a telescopic approach. The second chapter begins at the geographical widest level, viewing Soane’s Grand Tour on the Continent in light of his later ideas on a museum. The third and fourth chapter zoom in on the museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London, while retracing the early collection and looking at Soane’s religious beliefs. Lastly, a specific room within the museum, the basement space, is analysed using Lefebvre’s spatial theory. In this space, Soane’s ideas and life challenges come to the fore and create a mesmerizing and fascinating space where death and afterlife are central. In conclusion, this study finds that the house-museum of Sir John
Soane, the tension between death and conservation is uniquely visible.
| Type: |
Thesis
(Master)
|
| Supervisors (RUG): |
| Supervisor | E-mail | Tutor organization | Tutor email |
|---|
| Irving, A.J.M. | | Faculteit GGW, Cultuurgeschiedenis van het Christendom | A.J.M.Irving@rug.nl | | Keizer, J.P. | | Kunst &Arcitectuurgeschiedenis, Kunstgeschiedenis en Materiele Cultuur | Joost.Keizer@rug.nl |
|
| Degree programme: |
M Religion and Cultural Heritage |
| Academic year: |
2019-2020 |
| Date of delivery: |
08 Apr 2021 13:42 |
| Last modified: |
08 Apr 2021 13:42 |
| URI: |
https://ggw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/581 |
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