1899年4月由倫敦城區市政廳藝廊舉辦的「Turner 油畫與水彩借展」，為知名英國風景畫家J. M. W. Turner（1775-1851）身後首檔大型回顧展。為期3個月的特展展出38件Turner油畫、86件水彩、44件《學習之書》系列版畫，以及35件與Turner同時期畫家的油畫作品，因此此展也可說是Turner逝世後第一檔展件媒材多元且為數眾多的特展。本文旨在探討1899年特展於Turner展覽史上的意義，分析特展如何利用文字論述以及展品形塑藝術家形象，進一步深究1899年特展在20世紀Turner展覽的影響。
論文第一章，主要回顧Turner生前的參展經歷，與1851-1899年間之Turner身後展覽史，並透過文獻釐清1899年特展的緣起與幕後推手。第二章，從展覽的生成角度出發，探究特展如何利用文字論述與展品的選件及展示，形塑藝術家形象。第三章，焦點轉向特展的接受面與後續迴響，從藝評、報導、傳記，討論特展的接受與評價，最後透過Turner遺贈的展示以及1951及1974年兩檔大型Turner紀念展，檢視1899年特展的敘事是否對20世紀Turner展覽仍具影響力。 ;In April 1899, the exhibition, “Loan Collection of Pictures and Drawings by J. M. W. Turner, R. A., and of a Selection of Pictures by Some of his Contemporaries, ” was held in the Guildhall Art Gallery founded by City of London Corporation. It was the biggest posthumous retrospective of the famous British landscape painter J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) in the 19th century. The special exhibition featured 38 Turner’s oil paintings, 86 watercolours, 44 prints of Liber Studiorum, and 35 oil paintings by Turner′s contemporaries. That is to say, this exhibition could also be regarded as the first exhibition in which multiple media and numerous pieces were brought together since Turner′s death. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the significance of the 1899 exhibition in the history of Turner exhibition, to analyse how the artist’s image was shaped by textual discourses and exhibits, and to examine the influence of the 1899 exhibition in later Turner exhibitions in the 20th century.
The first chapter of this thesis reviews of the history of Turner exhibition between 1790 and 1899, and traces the birth of the 1899 exhibition. The second chapter explores how the exhibition narrated the life of Turner and arranged the exhibits to shape the artist’s image. The third chapter focuses on public acceptance and follow-up reverberation of the 1899 exhibition by examining the art reviews, newspaper reports, and biographies. Finally, I will explore whether the narrative of the 1899 exhibition still have influence on later Turner exhibitions in the 20th century by examining the display of Turner bequest and the two large scale Turner memorial exhibitions of 1951 and 1974.
