| 摘要: | 關於倫敦國家畫廊（The National Gallery, London）的主要研究與著作，在20世紀末以前多圍繞在館藏畫作的收藏背景、創作者與題材介紹，鮮少從倫敦國家畫廊的藝術、社會和機制脈絡來加以重構畫廊的發展理念與實踐歷程。直到20世紀末，以倫敦國家畫廊之公共實踐為主軸的相關議題才開始獲得藝術史界關注。即便如此，對於倫敦國家畫廊早期之實踐概念、建置過程仍有待進一步釐清和探討。這是因為倫敦國家畫廊的成立背景與條件相當不同於同期創立的歐陸公共美術館，因此，英國為何仍深信成立倫敦國家畫廊有其必要性，其實頗值得探討。除此之外，英國在缺乏現成的皇室收藏基礎下，該如何突破此現實困境來體現所謂的「國家畫廊」理念，或為其窘境尋求認同上的出路以進一步發展與革新，都是初期倫敦國家畫廊實踐有別於歐陸公共美術館的特殊之處。本文即以倫敦國家畫廊的成立背景、初期收藏與展示實踐為研究主軸，探討倫敦國家畫廊在這段期間的公共性爭辯與演進歷程。正文分為三部份：第一部份「從私人收藏到公共展示」，回溯倫敦國家畫廊成立以前英國所具備的收藏與展示條件，以及英國主張設立國家畫廊的公共訴求。第二部份「界定倫敦國家畫廊之公共性與公眾」，從描述倫敦國家畫廊成立初期的實踐樣貌，闡述其在收藏範疇、公眾及公共角色等議題的相關爭論。第三部份「公共收藏與展示體制的革新」，主要檢視倫敦國家畫廊於1850年代邁入現代性的館長行政體制、藝術史收藏與展示的轉折歷程。本文欲透過這三部份來呈現早期倫敦國家畫廊的定位與革新歷程，以期對國家畫廊體系須一再面對的公共理念議題有所啟發。
Studies and publications about the National Gallery, London before the end of the twentieth century tend to focus on the collection’s history, artists and subjects of paintings, whereas the Gallery’s constitution and development in the contexts of art, society and institutional history are often neglected. Not until the end of the twentieth century did the issues of public practices of the National Gallery begin to draw attention in art-historical studies. Even so, ideas of public display and the institutional development of the National Gallery still need clarification and further discussion due to the particularities of the Gallery: compared with continental public galleries in the nineteenth century, the establishment of the National Gallery lacks certain important historical conditions, such as the patronage from the Royal family and thus the potential impetus of turning Royal collections into public or national properties. Under these circumstances, the reasons why Britain still insisted to establish a national gallery require explanation. Moreover, it is also worth considering the ways in which Britain not only overcame the above-mentioned restrictions to establish a “national gallery” but also reformed its constitution so as to answer the increasing demand for its public duty.This thesis on the National Gallery tries to reconstruct its foundation, its early collecting and display practices, and to examine debates relating to the Gallery’s public role and collecting and display issues. It consists of three chapters: the first chapter, “from private collection to public display,” traces England’s collecting and display conditions prior to the National Gallery and the growing public demands for establishing a national gallery. The second chapter, “defining the public character of the National Gallery and its public,” reconstructs the Gallery’s display condition in its early phases, and discusses the debates on its typology of collection, its public and public roles. The third chapter, “reforming the system of public collection and display,” examines how the Gallery’s administration, collecting and display system were gradually modernized in the 1850s. As the title indicates, this thesis aims to show that the National Gallery’s public vision and developing processes in its early stages can provide significant references for thinking about the raison d’?tre of a national gallery. It also suggests that the notion of public would be a basic but vital issue for all national galleries to face repeatedly. |
