The term vitrine comes from French and describes a glass case built to display valuable art pieces, historical artifacts or commercial items. Vitrines provide protection for valuable items while permitting visual display and appreciation in museums as well as galleries and retail stores. During the late 1800s and early 1900s vitrines became popular in artistic installations as artists began to use them to produce immersive and interactive viewer experiences. In the mid-20th century peak of vitrine usage artists Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp incorporated them into their works to subvert conventional methods of displaying and presenting art. Joseph Cornell used vitrines to display his complex box assemblages which allowed viewers to delve into poetic and mysterious worlds of memory and imagination inside a limited area. Marcel Duchamp incorporated a vitrine in his revolutionary installation "Étant donnés" to merge the borders between the real world and illusion. Modern artists such as Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons integrate vitrines into their work to initiate discussions about consumer culture and the commercialized nature of art alongside issues of commodification. These artists present commonplace items or preserved specimens inside vitrines to make viewers rethink the worth and meaning of art objects in today's market-driven art scene. Artists use vitrines as dynamic instruments to engage audiences while blurring art and daily life distinctions and initiating discussions about representation and perception. The capacity of this medium to frame and protect art objects while providing context renders it adaptable and powerful in evolving contemporary artistic expressions.