Web Museums as the Last Endeavor

Abstract

In the 19th century, the museum was generally constituted as an accumulation of uncatalogued objects, while its fundamental role was relatively haphazard, with principal concern the elite’s good taste and high culture provided within a sacred site. At this time, heritage organizations began serving as a pedagogical source and incorporated learning strategies to accommodate the general public. Influenced by the Arts and Craft Movement, the Industrial Revolution brought an art education awareness, which first flourished in European museums, and then emerged after the Civil War in the United States—principally between 1870 and the Wall Street crash of 1929—for studying important artworks and supporting art appreciation through a constructivist perspective (Zeller, 1989). Some scholars posit that constructivism is the most convenient way to subjectively gain understanding, by involving visitors as active learners beyond the traditional approach (Hein, 1998). Earlier than the Second World War, the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York (www. metmuseum.org) was already known as a leader for setting educational programs with unique behind scenes of major masterpieces (see Figure 1), whereas the Louvre in Paris (www.louvre.fr) rapidly acted as a model in the Victorian Era for other established museums throughout the continent. Both Web museums of these organizations have shown creative ways of displaying their contents and for attracting an international crowd.