The history of museums often seems not so relevant or interesting next to the history of paintings or the lives of artists, however, it also has its relevance. Wars, revolutions, the economy, and various administrations have affected the history of museums as much as that of art.

In turn, characters can directly mark the museums and leave a mark of their passage and influence on the premises. A good example would be the directors of these institutions, some stand out more than others, therefore, museums would not be the same without their attributions, and without their registration, we would have no idea of ​​them.

On this occasion we want to share a little about the life of the first director who was in charge of the important Louvre Museum, Dominique Vivant Denon, and some of his contributions to museology, as well as to the world of art.

Dominique Vivant, Baron de Denon was a draftsman, engraver, writer, diplomat, and art collector – among other occupations – who is considered a forerunner of modern museology, but how did he come to the position of first director of the Louvre Museum? 

The interesting thing in Vivant's career begins with him being part of the court of Louis XV. At that point, he was working as a page, but he was also an engraving teacher for Madame Pompadour, the King's favorite courtesan. When his student died, he was in charge of diplomatic affairs for France in Russia and later in Italy. In the latter, not only would he spend 7 years of his life, but he would also meet a very important character for his career, the painter Jaques-Louis David. David's influences and protection helped him on his return to France and after the Revolution. With an ally like him and his academic activity in Fine Arts, he caught the attention of the Emperor Napoleon. In 1978, Napoleon invited Vivant to be part of the team of scientists and researchers who would accompany him on his expeditions to Egypt.

Thanks to this, Vivant wrote a fundamental work for European Orientalism, his Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte pendant les campagnes du général Bonaparte (Travels through Lower and Upper Egypt during the campaigns of General Bonaparte), with which he received a great fame and reputation in France as a scholar, making him a valuable man for Napoleon. Then, in the year 1802, Napoleon appointed him director of the Central Museum of Arts. The following year, this museum would become known as the Napoleonic Museum, or Napoleonic, but today its name is the Louvre Museum.

With the knowledge that Denon possessed, not only in the arts, but also in the objects looted in the Napoleonic expeditions, the direction of this character on the museum would go down in history for his strategies and contributions in museology. What Denon did was the most advanced of his time in terms of museology, and with this he was able to organize a huge collection of both European, Oriental and Egyptian works, the result of multiple looting by Napoleon.

The reorganization of the museum was really in its foundation, since Napoleon had already taken works throughout Europe, but Egypt was the novelty. Vivant is considered to be the creator of the Louvre in a certain way, since it was he who chose the works and organized the collections of everything that was looted by Napoleon, however, structuring the categories and criteria to do this was not an easy task. . As such, Vivant managed to organize one of the largest collections in Europe when no one had before, not with the ingenuity and vision that he had, because a collection of such caliber had never had the luxury. of bringing together European works with unseen Eastern and African discoveries, but Vivant possessed an enormous knowledge of Egypt from having experienced it first-hand, something that put him above any Frenchman on the subject.

Although the Napoleonic expeditions were really looting, it cannot be denied that, from the point of view of France at that time, these meant important contributions at the time. Vivant was responsible for several of them from 1805 and continued his work as curator and director of the museum until 1815. There is even an area in the Louvre dedicated to his artistic and archaeological contributions to the site, known as the Denon Pavilion.

Vivant Denon retired from his positions and positions in various institutions to dedicate the rest of his life to his artistic production. Thanks to its curatorial and museographic work, the Louvre found a balance within its growing collection at a time when works and artifacts arrived at accelerated speeds, without previous classifications. As a precursor of modern museography, it is certainly interesting to remember it.

Sources: Prado Museum, Paris City Vision, The concept of the museum and its epistemological extension. Modern and contemporary museological schools. A historiographic view.