In the Presence of Great Men : The German National Portrait Gallery 1913-1933
Krispinsson, Charlotta LU
(2018)
Portraiture
- Abstract
- In his “Dialogue about the Art of Portraiture” (1906), Viennese Art Historian Julius von Schlosser made the following critical observation of the behaviour of visitors in art museums:
They [the public] are not interested in the portrait as an expression or disclosure of an artistic personality, but rather the actual human being, one can say, looming behind it, who is known to them in a very particular way, and as such arouses a certain reaction both pro and con. Much as primitive people might look behind the mirror to discover the source of the image.
Written in 1906, von Schlosser’s observation reflects the popularity of portraiture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Permanent displays and temporary... (More) - In his “Dialogue about the Art of Portraiture” (1906), Viennese Art Historian Julius von Schlosser made the following critical observation of the behaviour of visitors in art museums:
They [the public] are not interested in the portrait as an expression or disclosure of an artistic personality, but rather the actual human being, one can say, looming behind it, who is known to them in a very particular way, and as such arouses a certain reaction both pro and con. Much as primitive people might look behind the mirror to discover the source of the image.
Written in 1906, von Schlosser’s observation reflects the popularity of portraiture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Permanent displays and temporary exhibitions of art often featured historical portraits and portraits of modern celebrities. The emergence of the national portrait gallery as a museum phenomenon during the nineteenth century reflects a broader interest in portraiture at the time. The first of its kind was the National Portrait Gallery in London. Pivotal to the foundation of the gallery in 1856 was historian Thomas Carlyle’s declaration that a portrait had put him in contact with the past. In 1913, a German National Portrait Gallery was founded as part of the larger reorganisation of the Nationalgalerie in Berlin. It was initiated by director Ludwig Justi, who formulated a curatorial plan of how interiors and portraits needed to be arranged in order to enhance a visitor’s experience of the portraits on display as not just any kind of art but as a face-to-face encounter.
The aim of this paper is thus to discuss portraiture on display at The National Portrait Gallery in Berlin (closed in 1933). Following W.J.T. Mitchell, who in What do Pictures Want? (2005) proposed “the relationality of image and beholder the field of investigation”, attention will be on the expectations and experiences of presence and encounter in the museum space. (Less)
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https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/992c68a3-ec80-43bf-9838-7e13171c85e8
- author
- Krispinsson, Charlotta
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- unpublished
- subject
- keywords
- portraiture, Museum Studies
- conference name
- Portraiture
- conference location
- Durham, United Kingdom
- conference dates
- 2018-07-13 - 2018-07-15
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 992c68a3-ec80-43bf-9838-7e13171c85e8
- date added to LUP
- 2021-01-02 19:17:13
- date last changed
- 2021-03-03 09:57:06
@misc{992c68a3-ec80-43bf-9838-7e13171c85e8,
abstract = {{In his “Dialogue about the Art of Portraiture” (1906), Viennese Art Historian Julius von Schlosser made the following critical observation of the behaviour of visitors in art museums:<br/><br/>They [the public] are not interested in the portrait as an expression or disclosure of an artistic personality, but rather the actual human being, one can say, looming behind it, who is known to them in a very particular way, and as such arouses a certain reaction both pro and con. Much as primitive people might look behind the mirror to discover the source of the image.<br/><br/>Written in 1906, von Schlosser’s observation reflects the popularity of portraiture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Permanent displays and temporary exhibitions of art often featured historical portraits and portraits of modern celebrities. The emergence of the national portrait gallery as a museum phenomenon during the nineteenth century reflects a broader interest in portraiture at the time. The first of its kind was the National Portrait Gallery in London. Pivotal to the foundation of the gallery in 1856 was historian Thomas Carlyle’s declaration that a portrait had put him in contact with the past. In 1913, a German National Portrait Gallery was founded as part of the larger reorganisation of the Nationalgalerie in Berlin. It was initiated by director Ludwig Justi, who formulated a curatorial plan of how interiors and portraits needed to be arranged in order to enhance a visitor’s experience of the portraits on display as not just any kind of art but as a face-to-face encounter.<br/><br/>The aim of this paper is thus to discuss portraiture on display at The National Portrait Gallery in Berlin (closed in 1933). Following W.J.T. Mitchell, who in What do Pictures Want? (2005) proposed “the relationality of image and beholder the field of investigation”, attention will be on the expectations and experiences of presence and encounter in the museum space.}},
author = {{Krispinsson, Charlotta}},
keywords = {{portraiture; Museum Studies}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{In the Presence of Great Men : The German National Portrait Gallery 1913-1933}},
year = {{2018}},
}