Decoding John Thomson’s Figural Photographs from His China Travels

Fung Ming-chu (馮明珠)

《National Palace Museum Bulletin》 44期 (2011/10) Pp. 103-124

摘要

This essay is based on a lecture presented at the invitation of The School of Culture and Creative Arts at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow museums for the conference “China: Through the Lens of the Western Photographers.” The contents herein deal with a discussion of the figural photographs by John Thomson from the Burrell Collection on exhibit in China through the Lens of John Thomson. The first part of this essay analyzes the different types of such photographs and then proceeds with decoding them to explore how their background reveal various historical phenomena and scientific trends current at the time, finally ending with a discussion of how John Thomson’s trip to China influenced his later career in photography.