Applied arts or decorative arts? Essential collections in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire A silent revolution took place in the review Genava of 1973. An entire section of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire changed its name. The museum henceforth harboured collections of "applied" rather than "decorative" arts, a term i nherited from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs that was founded in 1885 and incorporated into the Grand Musée at its inauguration in 1910. Claude Lapaire, the author of the new

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... , gave few explanations for this decision except to opine that the phrase "decorative arts" held a derogatory connotation. Applied Arts or Decorative Arts? Such is the question. And one to which it is not easy to provide an answer. Especially as the boundaries of this realm at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire have fluctuated considerably and are still a bit hazy. As for the visiting public, they are mostly unaware of these appellatives and only pay attention to the museum's history and art(s).