Studien zur Ikonographie des Kunstbetrachters im 17., 18. und 19. Jahrhundert

Beholding works of art is undoubtedly the most essential technique of art history. Yet the way pieces of art have been contemplated at different points in time has to date only been studied occasionally. The few existing publications merely address this issue using texts, i. e. they try to reconstruct the attitudes, convictions and interests art was dealt with in various epochs with the help of contemporary writings. Pictorial representations of art viewers, however, have not been examined with regard to such questions systematically. This is the objective of the present study. ///// The corpus here is constituted by European paintings, prints and drawings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, showing persons occupied with works of art; of course also figures who – perhaps demonstratively – are not interested in the pieces on display can be of significance. Apart from the persons depicted – their social status, their gender- and age-related composition – the context in which they are shown should also be taken into consideration: is it a public event or more likely a private rendezvous? Is the love of art the actual reason for this get-together? Is it simply a factual account of a collection with staffage figures or a representative portrait of a proud collector with his treasures and prestigious guests? And with respect to the development of the motif, it must be borne in mind when, where, in which medium and in which thematic context it appears. ///// After some occasional examples in the 15th and 16th centuries representations of art viewers occur more often only in the 17th century. For quite a while these are mainly restricted to Antwerp or artists educated there. Initially the galleries depicted are fictitious, demonstrating a preoccupation with the objects on display (at that time there were usually still some NATURALIA and SCIENTIFICA along with the paintings) oriented towards knowledge and cognition. Not until the 1630s do some examples appear with visitors showing a mere incidental interest in the exhibited pieces. ‘Portraits’ of existing collections are very seldom in this period. ///// In the 18th century there came to the depictions of - now actually existing - collections representations of the art trade and exhibitions. This development was accompanied by a significant geographical propagation of the motif, the most important places being Paris, London and Rome. Apart from this it can be observed that most of the depictions were now prints - especially this medium saw the further advancement of the motif. This way one could portray the events in question more immediately and of course produce for a wider public. Along with the saloncritiques, this circumstance probably contributed substantially to the considerable popularity of the exhibitions and thus also to a decisive step in the process of opening art to a wider social spectrum: not only do patricians and aristocracy appear, but also representatives of the middle and sometimes even lower classes. ///// In the 19th century access to art was further ‘democratised’, with the idea of the museum as an institution for the education of the whole public – including the working class – spreading throughout Europe from post-revolutionary France. Even if this development is not so clearly reflected in the depictions, the impression given is that representatives of the lower classes are now appearing more often in connection with the contemplation of art. This and the increasing interest of artists in the individual and sometimes peculiar behaviour of the visitors – mostly of museums and exhibitions – expands the range of variation of the motif.

Grantor dc:publisher

Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University

Year dc:date

2005

Author dc:creator

• Becker, Heinrich Silvester Johannes

Contributors dc:contributor

• Beyer, Andreas

• info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/700
• Künste, Bildende Kunst allgemein
• Kunstbetrachtung
• gemalte Galerien
• Kunstkammer
• Bild-im-Bild
• Motivgeschichte
• Museum
• Ausstellung
• Salon
• Kunsthandel
• Kunstsammlung
• Kunstrezeption
• Kunstgespräch
• art viewer
• contemplation of art
• beholding art
• kunstkamer
• cabinet d'amateur
• picture within picture

Statement dc:rights

• info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Language dc:language

ger

Identifier

https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/search?p=id:%22RWTH-CONV-121444%22

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:publications.rwth-aachen.de:59682