McKenna Brown

World of Museums

Carlotta Fuhs

Individual Museum Visits

Pitti Palace - Florence

1. Museum building: Pitti Palace, art museum, historical building – the official residence of the
Medici family and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, commissioned by Luca Pitti in 1458, sold to
the Medici’s in 1549, Cosimo doubled the size of the palace to make it fit his style and built
the Vasari Corridor to connect the Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi, Ponte Vechio and Palazzo Pitti
2. Collection: Palatine Gallery, Royal Apartments, Gallery of Modern Art, Silver Museum,
Porcelain Museum, Costume Gallery, Carriages Museum
a. Palatine Gallery: holds over 500 Renaissance paintings that were part of the Medici’s
personal art collection, the rooms are decorated in the baroque style
3. Display: Paintings in the Palatine Gallery are displayed in the traditional 17th century style
where the paintings cover the entire wall, the paintings are not in chronological order or
schools of paintings, instead they show the personal taste of the people who collected them
a. Many significant collections are housed in the Pitti Palace, including collections of
Titian, Raphael, Rubens, Pietro da Cortona, Rans Pourbus, Velazquez
4. Psychological and physical orientation: atmosphere was quiet and respectful, there were no
loud noises or tour groups, everyone walked fairly silently and admired the collections,
panels at the beginning of each room in the Palatine Gallery and apartments to explain what
is in the rooms and what apartments they used to be, English and Italian, some were too
small or in a poor location
5. Didactic devices: target audience is history and art lovers, not necessarily children, more of a
grown-up and respectful feeling in the museum, there are exhibits in the museum and
gardens at different times of the year
6. Services and facilities: bathrooms, elevator, café, book/gift shop, special entrance for
disabled, staff in every room to help
7. Website and social media: no Twitter or Instagram, Facebook is very lacking and has almost
no posts, website is combined with Uffizi and Boboli pages but includes a lot of helpful
information and is easy to access
8. Personal comments: well organized, very unique and interesting exhibits, helpful staff
Van Gogh Museum – Amsterdam

1. Museum building: art museum, new building – opened in 1973, designed by Gerrit Rietveld
and Kisho Kurokawa, consists of two connected buildings designed by each architect, the
Rietveld building holds the main museum, the Kurokawa wing holds major temporary
exhibitions
2. Collection: largest collection of Van Gogh’s works in the world, holds works by Van Gogh
and his contemporaries, some famous paintings by Van Gogh housed there are Sunflowers,
Self-portrait and Almond Blossoms
3. Display: the first floor shows his works chronologically, as you work your way up the stairs
you see his work grouped also chronologically and in rooms based on his inspirations or
where he was when he created them, the paintings are displayed on the walls with spotlights
shining on them, there are also words painted on the walls with quotes or facts about Van
Gogh and there are letters displayed that show the correspondence from him and his
brother, the floors are in a circle so that you start and end at the staircase
4. Psychological and physical orientation: the museum was very busy and loud, no pictures are
allowed in the museum so there are very strict security gardens standing in every room,
panels were mostly painted on the walls so that a lot of people could read them at the same
time, they gave detailed information about Van Gogh’s whereabouts, inspirations and mental
state throughout time
5. Didactic devices: people of all ages are the target audience, visits from groups, schools, and
private tours are given, there are also many exhibits and activities like a walk-in painting
class offered at the museum
6. Services and facilities: bathrooms, coat check, elevators, café, book/gift shops
7. Website and social media: very organized and easy to use website with all their information,
active Twitter
8. Personal comments: the museum was very busy, but still easy to navigate, I enjoyed the
museum, thought it was well organized and run
Anne Frank House Museum – Amsterdam

1. Museum building: historical museum, old building – the actual house and attic that Anne
Frank and her family hid in from 1942-1944, Anne’s father, Otto, survived the holocaust
camp and returned to the attic where he found Anne’s diary, he had the book published and
later helped open the museum, he did not want any furniture to be put into the attic because
it wouldn’t have been the real furniture and wouldn’t be authentic
2. Collection: there are no artifacts from the time the families spent in the attic, just the empty
rooms and pictures on the walls of how the rooms looked and who lived in them, in Anne’s
room, some of her old photographs and posters are still on the walls
3. Display: the rooms are empty, people walk from room to room with audio guides that
describe what was in each room, only the walls have things on them, like information about
the rooms and people
4. Psychological and physical orientation: the atmosphere of the museum was obviously pretty
somber, experiencing the house in person makes the book even more real, the panels on
the walls include pictures of how the rooms used to be set up, who lived in the rooms and
brief backgrounds on them all, as well as timelines and other information about the Second
World War
5. Didactic devices: the target audience is people of all ages, the museum works very hard to
educate everyone about the horrors of the Second World War and how to not repeat it,
school and group visits are allowed
6. Services and facilities: bathrooms before the museum, coat check, no elevator and a lot of
stairs inside the attic
7. Website and social media: the website is very informational about Anne’s life, the war and
other topics like antisemitism, prejudice and stereotypes, discrimination and equal rights,
very active Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
8. Personal comments: a very moving experience, the audio guides were great resources for
the museum, sometimes the flow was a bit packed with people but the physical structure
cannot be changed so it was understandable
Gucci Garden – Florence

1. Museum building: fashion museum, old building – Palazzo della Mercanzia on Piazza della
Signoria, near the Palazzo Vecchio
2. Collection: Gucci designs from the beginning of the company to now, clothing, accessories,
luggage
3. Display: clothing is on mannequins, accessories, pictures and other items are laid out on
display or are in display cases
4. Psychological and physical orientation: not much paneling just labels with the items and
clothes
5. Didactic devices: target audience is fashion lovers or anyone interested in Gucci, there is
also a restaurant attached to the museum designed specifically for Gucci
6. Services and facilities: bathrooms, two large giftshops that are also set up as part of the
museum, elevator
7. Website and social media: the web page is under the Gucci website, only a Facebook page
that is used pretty regularly
8. Personal comments: a very cool museum to see the history of Gucci’s fashion, I liked the
organization of it as it works from the top floor to the ground level
Pergamon Museum – Berlin

1. Museum building: art and historical museum, old/new building – construction lasted 20 years
on the building from 1910-1930, three-wing complex, most visited museum in Germany,
currently undergoing renovations that have closed the hall that holds the Pergamon Altar and
the north wing
2. Collection:
a. Antikensammlung: collection of classical antiquities, artworks and cultural artifacts
from Greek and Roman antiquity
b. Vorderasiatisches: museum of the ancient Near East, archaeological finds from
excavations in Iraq, Syria and Turkey
c. Museum fur Islamische Kunst: art, artifacts and archaeological finds from Islamic
people the late antiquity to the last century
3. Display: items are arranged and displayed based on the collection and objects, the Museum
fur Islamische Kunst is displayed chronologically, there are grouped displays, like the Berlin
collection of carpets, and reconstructions, like the Ishtar Gate
4. Psychological and physical orientation: panels are at the beginning of all the rooms and
collections and labels are by almost every object, there is also an audio guide that explains
the museum’s collections in more detail
5. Didactic devices: the target audience is people of all ages, there were a lot of school groups
there when I went, they have educational programs for adults, children, families, and school
for kids of all ages, there were arrows on the floor to show people which way to go in the
Museum fur Islamische Kunst
6. Services and facilities: bathrooms, elevators, maps, audio guides, help desks
7. Personal comments: I was a little disappointed that I went while so much of the museum was
being renovated so I didn’t get to see the Pergamon Altar and a lot of other collections, all I
got to see was the Ishtar Gate and the Museum fur Islamische Kunst, the museum was very
busy with school groups and the kids were very loud and didn’t seem too interested in the
museum so they didn’t follow the arrows and crowded in inconvenient places, other than that
I thought the museum and its collection were very interesting
Louvre Museum – Paris

1. Museum building: art museum, old historical building – world’s largest art museum, the
Louvre Palace was built in the late 12th to 13th centuries, museum opened in 1793, the glass
pyramid and underground lobby area were opened in 1989
2. Collection: there are eight collections - Egyptian antiquities, Near Eastern antiquities, Greek,
Etruscan and Roman, Islamic art, Sculpture, Decorative arts, Painting, and Prints and
drawings
3. Display: grouped displays by collection, contemplative displays, lighting, audio guides,
showcases, stands, text and labels
4. Psychological and physical orientation: the museum was very busy and most people worked
their way towards the Mona Lisa, which was even more crowded, there were signs on the
walls to tell you which way each collection was and signs specifically for Mona Lisa since
she is in her own room
5. Didactic devices: the target audience is anyone, there is art and history there for everyone,
the Louvre has events like a Touch Gallery that allowed blind and visually impaired people to
touch casts of famous works, there is also an auditorium and exhibitions
6. Services and facilities: bathrooms, help desk, audio guides, anyone with a visa to stay in any
EU country can get in for free, café, book/gift shop, maps
7. Website and social media: the website is laid out nicely and has a lot of information, very
active on all social media
8. Personal comments: the Mona Lisa room was very busy and every was pushing to get to the
front, I felt bad for the people who worked in that room and had to control the crowds, the
Louvre Palace was huge, I liked the signs and arrows pointing to the different collections