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The Ephemeral Museum: Old Master Paintings and the Rise of the Art Exhibition
When and why did large-scale exhibitions of Old Master paintings begin, and how have they evolved through the centuries? In this book an eminent art historian examines the intriguing history and significance of these international art exhibitions.
Francis Haskell begins by discussing the first “Old Master” exhibitions in Rome and Florence in the seventeenth century and then moves to eighteenth-century France and the efforts to organize exhibitions of contemporary art that would be an alternative to the official ones held by the Salon. He next describes the role of the British Institution in London and the series of remarkable loan exhibitions of Old Master paintings there. He traces the emergence of such nationalist exhibitions as the Rembrandt exhibition held in Amsterdam in 1898, the first modern “blockbuster” exhibit. Demonstrating how the international loan exhibition was a vehicle of foreign and cultural policy after the First World War, he gives a fascinating account of several of these, for example the Italian Art exhibition held at Burlington House in 1930 (Botticelli in the Service of Fascism). He describes the initial reluctance of major museums to send pictures on potentially damaging journeys and explains how this feeling gave way to cautious enthusiasm. Finally, in a polemical chapter, he explores the type of publications associated with exhibitions and with the criticism and scholarship that have centered upon them.
Francis Haskell begins by discussing the first “Old Master” exhibitions in Rome and Florence in the seventeenth century and then moves to eighteenth-century France and the efforts to organize exhibitions of contemporary art that would be an alternative to the official ones held by the Salon. He next describes the role of the British Institution in London and the series of remarkable loan exhibitions of Old Master paintings there. He traces the emergence of such nationalist exhibitions as the Rembrandt exhibition held in Amsterdam in 1898, the first modern “blockbuster” exhibit. Demonstrating how the international loan exhibition was a vehicle of foreign and cultural policy after the First World War, he gives a fascinating account of several of these, for example the Italian Art exhibition held at Burlington House in 1930 (Botticelli in the Service of Fascism). He describes the initial reluctance of major museums to send pictures on potentially damaging journeys and explains how this feeling gave way to cautious enthusiasm. Finally, in a polemical chapter, he explores the type of publications associated with exhibitions and with the criticism and scholarship that have centered upon them.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2000
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About the author
Francis Haskell
45 books11 followersFrancis James Herbert Haskell was an English art historian, whose writings placed emphasis on the social history of art.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 4, 2020
I've been to old master exhibits both on vacation and when traveling exhibits come to the Seattle Art Museum. We go to see a grouping of what others have acknowledged are works worth seeing. I usually take it for granted that their choices are valid, that I will learn something, and that I should take the opportunity to see these pieces when I can--especially if I can do it without expensive and polluting travel.
This book is a fascinating look into the evolution of these Old Master exhibits. It raises questions about which works/artists are chosen, what kind of venue is appropriate, who and how many should have access to art, and the dangers of travel for the art works involved. I have always felt a little guilty visiting a traveling exhibit without checking out the rest of the museum's galleries. But Old Master exhibitions bring in money for local museums and create an event that spurs locals like me to visit. According to Francis Haskell, modern day museums are dependent on the traveling exhibits, which means they have to loan their own works too. But what is this doing to the art? And how important is travel anyway (for the art or for people) as virtual experiences improve?
This book gave me a lot of food for thought that I will take with me on my next museum trip.
This book is a fascinating look into the evolution of these Old Master exhibits. It raises questions about which works/artists are chosen, what kind of venue is appropriate, who and how many should have access to art, and the dangers of travel for the art works involved. I have always felt a little guilty visiting a traveling exhibit without checking out the rest of the museum's galleries. But Old Master exhibitions bring in money for local museums and create an event that spurs locals like me to visit. According to Francis Haskell, modern day museums are dependent on the traveling exhibits, which means they have to loan their own works too. But what is this doing to the art? And how important is travel anyway (for the art or for people) as virtual experiences improve?
This book gave me a lot of food for thought that I will take with me on my next museum trip.
October 27, 2008
This is a book of essays about various exhibitions of Old Master paintings. Most non-specialists will want to give this one a pass. It does contain a few interesting "footnote to history" type things: e.g., that Neville Chamberlain's wife worked with Mussolini to organize an exhibition of Italian paintings in England in 1920, and that the central idea of Johan Huizinga's The Autumn of the Middle Ages came to him when he was viewing an exhibition of paintings by Flemish artists.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews