School of Culture and Communication - Theses

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Author: Helme, Alice Louise Victoria × End date: 2022 × Start date: 2020 × Type: PhD thesis × Subject: Art History × Subject: Medieval Art ×

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    Art, Faith and Place Re-contextualising Devotion in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence
    Helme, Alice Louise Victoria ( 2021)
    This thesis examines the museological and exhibitionary history of the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence. Founded in 1891, the Museum displays art objects of sacral and artistic significance to Florence’s cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. It has undergone multiple redevelopments since its foundation. Each successive re-curation of the collection sought to increasingly connect the artworks to their original locations in the Cathedral’s sites. This culminated in a major renovation in 2015, which expanded the exhibition spaces and introduced a devotional themed layout. This new layout mirrored a journey through the Cathedral complex, re-contextualising the collection as religiously significant and functioning objects inextricably tied to the centre of Florentine devotional culture at Santa Maria del Fiore. The thesis studies the museum’s evolving exhibitionary contexts, from the 1891 opening to the 2015 redevelopment through three key exhibits: the cantorie by Luca della Robbia and Donatello; the sculptures from the Cathedral facade in the Piazza del Paradiso; and Michelangelo’s Pieta. By using artworks and spaces as internal studies of the Museum, this thesis focuses on the museological methods and history of museum practice in addressing the Opera del Duomo’s collection. These internal studies examine the original or intended locations of the artworks at the Cathedral sites, their transition into the Museum, and the evolving museological treatment applied to them. This thesis underscores the museum’s progressively refined methodology that has resulted in a unique and innovative approach to contextualising and communicating the civic and devotional meaning encoded in its collection. It suggests that the contextualisation of the artefacts in the Museum has allowed for greater understanding of historical and devotional concepts unique to the Florentine faith and the Cathedral. This thesis concludes that the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo demonstrates the ability of contemporary museums to re-contextualise devotion and connect past and present in the mind of the viewer.