Fine art museums are a modern idea. Like public parks and public libraries, they are a way to let the masses experience things previously reserved for the wealthy and/or aristocratic or, in the case of religious art, reserved for the members of the parish which bought them.
According to the article below, Manet was the first artist to aspire to have his work placed in a museum. In my view, there are a few of his I'd enjoy as our living room decor but we are out of wall space anyway...
POINT OF NO RETURN - Alex Kitnick on the discontent with museums
I am ambivalent about art and cultural museums. You get to walk around in a strange reverent hush and look at pictures that you could never afford to hang in your living room.
What is the greatest art museum in the world? By all accounts, NYC's Metropolitan Museum. Lots of other wonderful ones (I've been to most of 'em) around the western world to visit, but the Met's scope and abundance is overarching.
As you know, my limit is one hour just to see a show or a few things I want to look at. Otherwise I get "museum brain". I had some excellent art history classes in high school and college, not to mention books and the good things from Great Courses. Still, a semi-illiterate with Fine Art. I like to look at all of it, cool pictures.
Addendum: Re the Met, I wish they would show a mock-up of the Greek guys - the ones with their penises broken off - with the original Greek paint on them. These were not made as "art". More like Tussaud's or Disney. Wish I knew whether Michelangelo knew that the Greek stuff had been realistically painted.
