Study On The Acquisition,Display And Audiences Of The National Gallery,London Between 1847 And 1865

This dissertation focuses on the acquisition,display and audiences of the National Gallery,London from 1847 to 1865.During this period,the National Gallery,London had undergone a significant change.It began to transform from an art gallery which was similar to a British traditional private collection to a modern art gallery.Under the management of the trustees,the Keeper Ralph N.Wornum,and the first director Sir Charles Lock Eastlake,the National Gallery,London succeeded in constructing an influential canon of masterpieces but it also endeavoured to present a history of European painting.These two aims were not always easily reconciled in practice.Therefore,this dissertation uncovers how the National Gallery in London constructed the unique identity of the British School under the absolute aesthetic criterion of Old Master painting,as well as how it endowed the long-neglected Early Italian painting with local value and accomplished the systematic acquisition and display of it.Meanwhile,this dissertation explores and analyses the contradiction,prejudice and reconciliation during the whole process.As a public art gallery,it was never completely clear for which portion of the public it was intended and who exactly had access to it.Therefore,this dissertation also investigates the display space and presents group images of audiences with different identities,thus to show the role of the National Gallery,London in art education and public moralization.