Catalogue from the exhibition:
Infinite Museum. Joaquim Vasconcelos and the museum Industrial e Comercial do Porto (1883-1899)
(15 Jan. 2016 > 17 Apr. 2016)

About the exhibition:
"«Infinite Calling» translates the commitment and total dedication Joaquim de Vasconcelos (1849-1936), art historian and art critic, put into the creation and development of the Museu Industrial e Comercial do Porto, established in 1883.

From the drawings and writings of Joaquim de Vasconcelos himself, this exhibition reconstructs the first museum dedicated to industrial and applied arts in Portugal, in the tradition of the great museums opened throughout Europe following the Industrial Revolution. The objects on display are arranged in a taxonomy set up by Joaquim de Vasconcelos, discussing the pedagogical aim of the museum, its relation with national production and the relationship between design and industries.

For Joaquim de Vasconcelos, the museums were a teaching tool, didactic material that contributed to a competent and demanding training. In this case, the museum aimed, above all, to train the draughts persons of factories, a clear goal in the exhibition program.

On the one hand, it was a Proto-Design Museum; and on the other, an advanced Ethnographic Museum; in parallel, a Museum as a shop window for the promotion and enhancement of the best national product.

With this exhibition and its respective catalogue, we make known an episode sadly almost forgotten in the history of Portuguese culture."

Editorial coordination Bárbara Coutinho
Scientific coordination Sandra Duarte
Presentation Catarina Vaz Pinto, Bárbara Coutinho
Graphic design Paula Guimarães

Publisher: MUDE
Language: bilingual Portuguese / English.
Pages: 272, hard cover.
Size: 17 x 23 x 2,3 cm.