觀看與理解藝術品樣貌是藝術史知識形成與傳佈的基礎。在無法親見原作下，複製圖像便成為必要的替代品。在二十世紀機械複製時代之前，手工版畫有效的複製並傳播藝術圖像。歐洲自十七世紀起，隨著版畫技術的發達，王公貴族私藏繪畫雕刻作品開始透過複製版畫公開流傳，一方面宣傳收藏者的聲望，更重要的是加速傳佈藝術家及其作品名聲，滿足公眾對觀看藝術日益增加的興趣與需求。十八世紀複製版畫集的出版，更配合說明文字，對於藝術史知識在近代的形塑與傳播有深遠的影響。學界既有研究皆以歐陸案例為關注焦點，忽略在此過程中英國發展的脈絡。本文首度追溯十八世紀後期至十九世紀初英國「圖解藝術書籍」的發展過程，分析《英國最重要畫作收藏版畫集》與《大英畫廊》等深具代表性的出版品，探討在藝術書籍中讓讀者「看見」藝術品這樣的理念與作法的發展，以及「藝術進展」概念在書籍內容編排中的展現。尤其，十九世紀初出現以圖文並茂的書籍講述歐洲繪畫史的企圖，可說提出了圖解藝術通史的新理想。

Viewing and understanding works of art is fundamental to the formation and dissemination of art-historical knowledge. Image reproduction becomes a necessary substitute when the original artwork is unavailable for in-person viewing. Before the prevalence of mechanical reproduction of images in the 20th century, hand-made prints effectively reproduced and disseminated images of artworks. Images of paintings and sculptures in royal and aristocratic collections in Europe began to publicly circulate through publications since the 17th century as printmaking technique advanced. These publications glorified the collectors, and, more importantly, accelerated the spreading of the renown of the artists and their artwork, thereby responding to the increasing interest in and demand for viewing art of the public. The emergence of art books with reproductive prints and explanatory texts during the 18th century further made a profound impact on the shaping and disseminating of the knowledge of art.

Existing studies in art books in Europe have primarily focused on the development in continental Europe while little attention has been paid to the British context. This article traces for the first time the emergence of “illustrated art books” in Britain from the late 18th to early 19th century. It analyzes representative publications such as A Collection of Prints, Engraved After the Most Capital Paintings in England and The British Gallery of Pictures in order to explore the development of the idea and practice of “seeing” artworks in books and how such concept of the “progress of arts” was realized in these books. In particular, the ambition to narrate a general history of European painting in one book that combined image and text in the early 19th century presents a new notion of illustrated art history books.

複製版畫; 圖解藝術書籍; 收藏圖錄; 紙上美術館; 英國

reproductive print; illustrated art book; illustrated catalogue of collection; museum on paper; Britain