This chapter explores the history of the art museums in Europe, from the eighteenth century to the present day, in the broader context of the nation-building process, the political representations of heritage, and the consumption and pleasures of art. The revolutionary period was an essential moment for the constitution of Europe's great art museums, in consequence of the wave of confiscations of churches and princes properties. It considers the identity of the national museum of art in the simple terms of ownership, related to the political issues of politics, policy and funding, and to the social context of private collecting and philanthropy. The architectural settings as well as the curatorial work of the catalogues and display constitute the next part of this chapter to explain the successive and sometimes conflictual interpretations of works of art during the process of their institutionalization and democratization.