紀要論文

ヴィクトリア朝におけるミュージアム思想 : ジョン・ラスキンの「セント・ジョージ・ミュージアム」を中心に(3)

One phase in Victorian museum culture: John Ruskin's Saint George's museum (3)

jpn

13493043

https://doi.org/10.15002/00007318

法政大学キャリアデザイン学部

5

301

322

2008-03

Version of Record

This chapter chiefly explores certain innovative plans that John Ruskin attempted to put into action in his Saint George's Museum in Sheffield. First, I examine the reason why he had chosen that industrial city to establish a museum ‘arranged first for workers in iron’, and show that Ruskin paid special attention to the life and character of the workers, i.e., the supposed audience of the museum, in order to meet their cultural needs precisely. This seemed rather exceptional and progressive for that day and age, even more so in comparison with Henry Cole, the founder of the South Kensington Museum, who also attempted to attract working men, though in a different way. In his discourses on the management of the museums, Ruskin argued that there should be two kinds of museums: one for the academic research and for treasuring anything quite precious, and the other mainly for the education of the working-class. For the educational museums, Ruskin proposed several ideas to make people understand the meaning and value of the collection exhibited there and develop their personal study further, as well. Though some of his conceptions have already become unsuitable for today museum administrations, we can still learn a lot from his writings concerning the relationship between a museum and its audience, which even then foretold the modern notion of lifelong-learning.

Article

AA11961954