Resumen de Les musées d'arts décoratifs
Michèle Bimbenet-Privat, Frédéric Dassas, philippe Malgouyres
The very notion of the decorative arts raises many questions. It is generally admitted that the category of decorative arts includes anything posterior to Antiquity that is neither painting nor sculpture. However, the term decorative seems to imply an absence of practical use, which is is often in direct contradiction with the nature of the objects. The writer goes on to discuss the issue of the presentation of decorative arts collections, and the role of museums as mediators between the contemporary public and these objects, with reference to a number of recently renovated and restructured decorative arts museums.
