The German Art Temple

Art museum is a very important social public institution in the field of culture in modern countries.In the historical process of the development of art museums,their social functions have risen from the protection and research of ancient art to the popularization of culture and art,and then to the significant carrier of evoking national spirit consciousness and establishing national cultural image.The upgradation and continuous expansion of the German art museum from the end of the 19 th century to the beginning of the 20 th century is typical historical event in this process.Wilhelm von Bode,a famous German art historian and curator of the art museum was the most representative and influential figure in the field of German art museum in this period.Over the past half century,Bode has gradually grown from a curator assistant to the general curator of the Berlin Art Museum.He devoted his life to the development of the art museum.Promoted by Bode,the original Berlin Art Museum was further expanded and upgraded,and it became the first art palace to compete with the Louvre and the British Museum.As a professional theorist,Bode was also an expert of connoisseurship and authority of art collection in the art museum circle at that time.He directly involved in such issues as the dispute between the authenticity of Rubens' works or Leonardo da Vinci's works and the establishment of the art collection association,etc.It was not only a representative case in the history of the development of art museum,but it also reflected the importance of art museum at the national level.Bode also reformed the form of exhibition in art museums.His theory and practice reflected the new trend of public and diversified development of art museums and the ideological change of aesthetics in the late 19 th century to the early 20 th century.Bode's influence is not limited to the Berlin Art Museum.His ultimate goal is to revitalize all German art museums,just as he participated in the establishment and support of many local art museums including the Strasbourg Museum of Painting.Many viewpoints and concepts promoted by Bode have become an important theoretical part of the modernization of art museums,and they have actively promoted the prosperity and progress of art museums in Germany and Europe.