On Owning Monuments

National Archives and Records Administration

George Clooney's Monuments Men should have been a victory for art history nerds everywhere: it shed light on a group of World War II heroes previously unknown to many, and was followed by a well intentioned demand by Clooney for the return of looted artifacts on display at the British Museum. For many, however, it fell short. First of all, the film was not very good. On top of a poorly written and realized script, the film failed to recognize is that many of the 345 participants in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program were women. It opts instead to follow a fictionalized female, meant to represent several real life characters.

Excluding females and other minorities from art history is an huge issue. But let's talk about Clooney's request of the British Museum, first.

The Elgin Marbles

A section of the Elgin Marbles. (From Wikimedia Commons)

It might be surprising to some to learn that many of the collections you have come to think of as defining the realm of art history can be considered looted. Such is the case with the "Parthenon Marbles" (or Elgin Marbles). The "Marbles" are the frieze sections of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. They were obtained by a Lord Elgin while he was working as an ambassador for Britain to the Ottoman Empire. Today, the museum stands by its rightful ownership of the Marbles by citing a document that has since been lost. According to Elgin at the time, he received legal permission to remove the frieze from the culturally important Greek building from the Ottoman government.
When thinking about this instance, it is important to keep in mind two things. First of all, the document in question cannot be found. Copies supposedly exist, but even these are possibly hoaxes. Secondly, this region of Greece was under foreign control at the time. This means that, did the government give permission to have these elements removed, the permission did not come from the culture that the history of the architecture belonged to. Thus today, Greece is demanding the return of their cultural artifacts on the grounds that they were illegally removed. Britain's saying no. And that's how Imperialism got it done.

How 247 feet of outdoor decoration from a 2,500 year old acropolis could end up 2,000 miles away from its home might seem suspect to those outside the museum atmosphere. The museum's refusal to return the pieces might appear even more heinous. However, this is actually a completely normal occurrence in the history of Western institutions. That's what this blog is going to be all about. The history of the collections of Western museums is fraught with suspect policies, thievery, and a healthy dose of seasoned adventurers who got it all done.

The Art Historian in Pop Culture

When I tell people that I am going in to Art History, I most often get a joke about becoming Indiana Jones. While I doubt I could currently outrun a boulder, the historical image of the people retrieving art objects is not far off from Professor Jones. Adventure in unknown and exotic lands is part of the Imperial Art Historical Mythos for a reason. However, the adventurers I will be talking about often enough will fall more in line with Laura Croft: independently wealthy, well educated people with singular interests in the history. Dual wielding pistols might even come into play more often than you think.
The people that compiled the art collections of the West were action heroes in the most basic sense. They had to survive on their wits and knowledge far from home. That being said, they are historically a privileged set with entirely dubious morals.

About Me & This Blog

For those of you that do not know me from previous work at Fempop, and my Babe in Armor Blogs, an introduction is necessary. I am a college drop out about to finish my first degree in Art History. I have an especial interest in the history of China, academically, and have done work for a couple of museums, including giving tours and research.

While I made a small name for myself as an internet commentator and reviewer of Nerd Culture, I have since replaced pop culture journalism with genre fiction. I operate from a strict moral code that includes, but is not limited to, Feminism with a capital 'F' (the intersectional kind). My writing is entirely biased, though I try to make my opinions informed ones.

This blog will explore the biased nature of art history. More importantly, it will tell the story of famous collections and the people that "discovered" them. I hope to supply arguments where I feel they must be made, and facts where I feel the reader should pick a side for themselves, or simply be informed. Each post will have sources linked in the articles, or cited at them end.

Looking forward to going on some adventures with you all!

--Josephine Maria--