From the start of the 1850s, the photographic reproduction of artworks inspired many art historians. Seduced by the work of Gustave Le Gray, in 1850 Léon de Laborde, curator at the Louvre, suggested a futuristic project to the Minister of Public Instruction: a general photographic inventory of all public collections. During the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1855, Benjamin Delessert successfully demonstrated the potential of photography for the diffusion of old masterpieces. In 1858, Goupil published The Works of Paul Delaroche, with photographs by Bingham. This collection constituted the first real catalogue of a painter’s work illustrated with photos (Source : Dominique de Font-Réaulx, L'œuvre d'art et sa reproduction, Musée d'Orsay, 2007).

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From the end of the 1850s, the Beaux-Arts administrators acquired various artistic publications illustrated by photography, destined for provincial art schools or museums. Photography was already playing an essential role in the broadcast of works of art, but it was hampered by the high cost of such publications.

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One century later, in his 1947 book Le Musée imaginaire [The Imaginary Museum], Malraux would analyse photographic reproduction’s role in making artwork from around the world accessible to all: “Today, [we] have colour reproductions of most great works at our disposition… [We] discover a great number of secondary paintings… An Imaginary Museum has opened, which will push to breaking point the incomplete confrontation imposed by real museums… I call “Imaginary Museum” the totality of what people can know today even without entering a museum – I mean what they know through reproductions, what they know through libraries.” Malraux’s prediction has come true; indeed, it’s gone far beyond even his far-sighted vision: new digital technologies have dissociated photography and its digital platform, and have promoted the massive sharing of top-quality digital images. The Internet allows us to access most artworks from around the world, meaning that the “Imaginary Museum” has now become a virtual museum, open to millions of individuals no longer confined to exhibition spaces, auditoriums or libraries. This new museum, accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, is a “museum without walls”.

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The term “Imaginary Museum” has inspired authors and publishers, who have applied it to any collection of essential or favourite artworks that an individual – a writer, artist, or public personality – would display together in the museum of their dreams. This approach, which sees the imaginary museum as different for everyone, is the opposite of Malraux’s own. With The Virtual Wine Museum, we are able to visit an "Imaginary Museum", not an ephemeral product of the imagination, but a significant collection of artworks by great and minor masters: with over 1,800 artworks on display spread over 42 countries*, it recounts the history of wine, its role and uses through the ages, from Antiquity to the present. Confrontations are widely permitted and practiced, be they within a single theme, between artists, or from one era to another, ...

 

Au-delà de ce qu’ils permettent, les musées imaginaires doivent comme les musées bien réels considérer avec Laurence des Cars** qu’ "un des rôles fondamentaux des musées, c'est la remise en contexte des œuvres. On est là pour informer le regard. Nous n'avons pas à juger, à condamner ou à absoudre, nous avons à montrer." C’est la ligne directrice que le Musée Virtuel du Vin s'est fixée.​

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* A few figures: the pictorial works represent by 66% of the total, while 30% belong to the other visual arts and exhibitions. 20% come from French museums and institutions, 65% from abroad, 15% either belong to private collections around the world or lack a specific location. The visitors outside France represent 40% of the total.

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** Laurence des Cars était alors présidente du Musée d'Orsay et du Musée de l'Orangerie à Paris. Elle est acuellement présidente-directrice du Musée du Louvre.