How have the concerns and ideas of the international museum community evolved over the past fifty years? Taking this question as his point of departure for a doctoral thesis, François Mairesse examined all the issues of the review Mouseion, published by the International Museums Office from 1927 to 1946, and its successor, Museum (now Museum International), published by UNESCO since 1948. The overview which follows highlights the areas of continuity and change and raises some pertinent questions about future directions. The author is an art historian with a Master’s degree in business economics, and is a fellow of the National Fund for Scientific Research at the Université Libre in Brussels. Specialized in museology, his research activities focus on the definition of museum missions and the methods used to evaluate museum activities.