“Museum”isaslipperyword.Itfirstmeant(inGreek)anythingconsecratedtotheMuses:ahill,ashrine,agarden,a festivalorevenatextbook.BothPlato’sAcademyandAristotle’sLyceumhadamouseion,amusesshrine.Althoughthe Greeksalreadycollecteddetachedworksofart,manytemples—notablythatofHeraatOlympia(beforewhichtheOlympic flameisstilllit)—hadcollectionsofobjects,someofwhichwereworksofartbywell-knownmasters,whilepaintingsandsculpturesintheAlexandrianMuseumwereincidentaltoitsmainpurpose. TheRomansalsocollectedandexhibitedartfromdisbandedtemples,aswellasmineralspecimens,exoticplants, animals;andtheyplunderedsculpturesandpaintings(mostlyGreek)forexhibition.Meanwhile,theGreekwordhadslippe D.intoLatinbytransliteration(thoughnottosignifypicturegalleries,whichwerecalledpinacothecae)andmuseumstillmoreor lessmeant“Muses-shrine”. Theinspirationalcollectionsofpreciousandsemi-preciousobjectswerekeptinlargerchurchesandmonasteries—which focusedonthegold-enshrined,bejewelledrelicsofsaintsandmartyrs.Princes,andlatermerchants,hadsimilarcollections, whichbecamethedepositsofnaturalcuriosities:largelumpsofamberorcoral,irregularpearls,unicornhorns,ostricheggs, fossilbonesandsoon.Theyalsoincludedcoinsandgems—oftenantiqueengravedones—aswellas,increasingly,paintingsandsculptures.Astheymultipliedandexpanded,tosupplementthem,theskillofthefakersgrewincreasinglyrefined. Atthesametime,visitorscouldadmiretheverygrandestpaintingsandsculpturesinthechurches,palacesandcastles; theywerenot“collected”either,but“site-specific”,andwereconsideredanintegralpartbothofthefabricofthebuildingsandofthewayoflifewhichwentoninsidethem—andmostofthebuildingswerepublicones.However,duringtherevivalof antiquityinthefifteenthcentury,fragmentsofantiquesculptureweregivenhigherstatusthantheworkofanycontemporary, sothatdisplaysofantiquitieswouldinspireartiststoimitation,orevenbetter,toemulation;andsocouldbeconsideredMuses-shrinesintheformersense.TheMedicigardennearSanMarcoinFlorence,theBelvedereandtheCapitolinRomewere themostfamousofsuchearly“inspirational”collections.Soontheymultiplied,and,gradually,exemplary“modern”workswerealsoaddedtosuchgalleries. Intheseventeenthcentury,scientificandprestigecollectingbecamesowidespreadthatthreeorfourcollectorsindependentlypublisheddirectoriestomuseumsallovertheknownworld.Butitwastheageofrevolutionsandindustrywhichproducedthenextsharpshiftinthewaytheinstitutionwasperceived:thefuryagainstroyalandchurchmonumentspromptedantiquarianstosheltertheminasylum-galleries,ofwhichtheMuseedesMonumentsFrancaiswasthemostfamous.Then,inthefirst halfofthenineteenthcentury,museumfundingtookoff,alliedtotheriseofnewwealth:LondonacquiredtheNationalGalleryandtheBritishMuseum,theLouvrewasorganized,theMuseum-InselwasbeguninBerlin,andtheMunichgallerieswere built.InVienna,thehugeKunsthistorischesandNaturhistorischesMuseumstookovermuchoftheimperialtreasure. Meanwhile,thedeclineofcraftsmanship(andofpublictastewithit)inspiredthecreationof“improving”collections.The VictoriaandAlbertMuseuminLondonwasthemostfamous,aswellasperhapsthelargestofthem. Thesentence“Museumisaslipperyword”inthefirstparagraphmeansthat
A.the meaning of the word didn’t change until after the 15th century. B.the meaning of the word had changed over the years. C.the Greeks held different concepts from the Romans. D.princes and merchants added paintings to their collections.正确答案B
