Medieval artwork contra Renaissance artwork in nineteenth-century Britain: Ruskin, Morris, James

Abstract

In an episode of Italian Hours from 1877 , Henry James mentions his dislike of Bargello, the former Florentine prison recently converted to a museum, because “ it smells too strongly of restoration ” (1909, 186). Artworks uprooted from suppressed religious orders fi ll the museum, and James notes how even the most devoted art lover is still “ uncomfortably conscious of the rather brutal process by which [the items have] been collected ” (1909, 186). James concludes these ruminations with a broader judgment on Italian museum-building practices: “ One can hardly envy young Italy the number of odious things she has had to do ” (1909, 186). James is particularly attentive to paradoxes surrounding art acquisition and appreciation because, in the nineteenth century, Italy was far from being the only country that had to make di ffi cult decisions about the removal, display, and restoration of artworks.