Art Mobility between Museums in Europe

Master's Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Art - Miscellaneous, grade: B (ECTS), 8 out of 10, University of Groningen, course: Double-Degree Erasmus Mundus Master Course 'Euroculture: Europe in the Wider World', language: English, abstract: Beginning with the last decades of the 20th century it has been an unprecedented tendency to create outposts of big museums abroad. The opening of the Hermitage-Guggenheim Exhibition Centre in Las Vegas and the decision of creating a filial branch of the Louvre in Abu-Dhabi in 2012 can serve as an illustrative example of this phenomenon. The purpose of the present Master Thesis is to show that despite political, economic and linguistic diversities that exist between the Netherlands and Russia, strong cultural ties and cross-cultural dialogues have remained since the 18th century and are flourishing nowadays. I will demonstrate what has been done in practice in order to strengthen international cross-cultural bonds and to introduce foreign cultural heritage abroad in particular. The aim of the Master Thesis is to study the examples of museum models in the 21st century illustrated by the case study of the Hermitage Amsterdam Complex and the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum 'satellite' museums. Taking into account the importance and special significance of the latter, the choice of that particular case study seems rational and illustrative. I will present the motives and goals of 'expansion' tendencies of large art museums in the Netherlands and in Spain. I will elaborate on difference in motives beyond the opening of museums' outposts by Russian and by American museums in the European Union. What are the crucial steps the museum authorities tend to undertake in order to safeguard and promote the art Europe-wide? I will point out how art mobility is connected to the present area of globalization. In my Master Thesis I will explore the following question: 'Can the creation of museum 'satellites' abroad be seen as the future model of museums' development?' In order to address this question the present paper is structured around four chapters. In the beginning of the Master Thesis I explore the notion of European museum and important features of Russian and Dutch cultural policies. Further on, I narrow down my research of art mobility by using the case of museum 'satellites' created by the Hermitage and Guggenheim networks. Finally, I describe main principles of museum expansion under the challenges of modern times in order to identify possible museum models.