怪誕的存有，優雅的死亡－ 湯姆斯．羅蘭森的《英國死亡之舞》

Grotesque Being, Polite Death — Rowlandson’s The English Dance of Death

林怡君(Yi-Chun Lin)

指導教授 ： 曾少千

國立中央大學/文學院/藝術學研究所/碩士(2006年)

摘要

湯姆斯‧羅蘭森(Thomas Rowlandson，1756-1827)是英國十八世紀中期至十九世紀初期著名的漫畫家，他的創作產量豐沛，題材巨細靡遺的涵蓋了英國當時社會百態，表現的手法則是最擅長以流暢的線條描繪，生動的呈現畫作內容。《英國死亡之舞》(The English Dance of Death，1814-1816)屬於他創作生涯當中晚期的作品，這部作品以兩年之久的時間，每個月三幅畫作持續的出版，雖然多數學者認為羅蘭森生涯後期的創作不如他的壯年時期，但是《英國死亡之舞》無疑展現了作者無限的想像及創意、荒誕卻不失優雅的幽默。

有關「死亡之舞」這個主題的創作有著淵源長久的歷史，自中世紀以來，傳統作品所表現的內涵幾乎多是以宗教訓誨為重心：說明了死亡不分男女老少，不分階級高低，不分任何時間空間，不論各行各業的差異，都一視同仁的對待，他的權力高過一切，能夠隨意的帶走任何人。但是羅蘭森的《英國死亡之舞》所著重之處，與傳統的作品差異甚多，其中不再是各個階級面臨死亡之時人人平等的狀態，或是突顯死亡至高無上的決定權，而是強調死亡所出現的各種不同的日常生活狀況，突發事件、與各式各樣荒謬的情境。

英王喬治三世的時代(1760-1820)被稱為「諷刺漫畫的黃金時期」(The Golden Age of Caricature)，與整個喬治王朝(1714-1820)的經濟發展、政治情勢、市場自由競爭、社會文化與教育都有關。喬治王朝的這一百多年期間，文學、藝術、音樂等等各方面的創作蓬勃發展，如此一來，作家與藝術家等生產者當然也面臨了市場競爭的極大壓力，他們的作品必須更符合社會期待與消費者的需要，在藝術創作、市場導向、甚至於是道德教誨各方面都必須兼顧。過去學者們對於羅蘭森「死亡之舞」創作的改變，都將其歸因於藝術家的個人因素，但是在出版市場如此興盛且競爭的時代，藝術家所處的大環境，必然應當深深影響著創作的結果。

本論文除了綜觀十八世紀與十九世紀初期諷刺漫畫的市場，了解羅蘭森生平與創作特色之外，仍希望由《英國死亡之舞》這部作品作為出發點，分析其與傳統「死亡之舞」的異同之處，進一步嘗試從當時人文思想、社會環境、心理層次等各方面的影響來觀看，解釋為什麼羅蘭森選擇這樣的創作表現方式。

關鍵字

死亡之舞 ； 死亡觀 ； 英國死亡之舞 ； 湯姆斯‧羅蘭森

並列摘要

Grotesque Being, Polite Death —
Rowlandson’s The English Dance of Death

Abstract

Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) was a famous English caricaturist during the middle eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. His incredible productivity amply covered every detail of the contemporary social life. The most outstanding techniques in his works were the fluent line drawings and those lively figures. The English Dance of Death (1814-1816) belongs to the late period of his career. The book was a collection of pictures created over two years, of which three pieces were published every month between 1814 and 1816. Although most reviews about Rowlandson considered the zenith of his career to be his thirties rather than his late years, The English Dance of Death undoubtedly showed Rowlandson’s unlimited imagination and creativity, and his grotesque humor with elegance.

The artistic creations for the ‘Dance of Death’ and ‘Danse macabre’ have now been in use for over five centuries. The religious edifications of the traditional ‘Dance of Death’ are quite distinct, and meanings of those works were almost the same since the Middle Ages: death leads everyone into the dance, from the whole clerical hierarchy to every single representative of the lay world. Death does not care for the social position, or for the wealth, the sex, the age of the people it leads into its dance. However, the presentation of the Rowlandson’s The English Dance of Death is rather different from those traditional ones. His pictures emphasize the activities of daily life and all varieties of interesting social events with the presence of death. The basic idea of the traditional works that all men will die equally in front of death was no longer stressed in Rowlandson’s creation.

The Reign of George Ⅲ (1760-1820) was designated the golden age of English caricature. The economic expansion of the nation, peculiar political conditions, unprecedented exploitation of prints, and changing cultural circumstances in the Hanoverian era all contributed to the flourish of the caricature. The productions of literatures, artistic works, and music compositions rapidly increased in the free markets. At the same time, the competition among those Georgian artists was fiercer than ever. The works they created must meet the expectation of the society and the need of consumers. All aspects of aesthetics, didactic instruction, and business transactions need to be considered. The reasons for the change in Rowlandson’s works were simply attributed to his personal characteristics by scholars in the past. Nevertheless, the influence of the dynamic metropolitan culture on Rowlandson’s practices certainly can not be disregarded.

The market of English caricatures in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, along with the life and artistic career of Rowlandson will be surveyed in this essay. The societal, cultural, and psychological forces of this specific period are all the more imperative to be examined together with the difference between the traditional ‘Dance of Death’ and Rowlandson’s The English Dance of Death.

並列關鍵字

dance of death ； The English Dance of Death ； Thomas Rowlandson ； Death view

參考文獻

Ariès, Philippe. Images of Man and Death, Havard University Press, 1985.

Styles, John. edited, Design and the Decorative Arts: Georgian Britain 1714-1837, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2004.

--- The hour of our death, Alfred A. Knopf Inc. 1981.

--- Western attitudes toward death : from the Middle Ages to the present, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975.

Barrell, John edited, Painting and the Politics of Culture: New Essays on British Art, 1700-1850, Oxford University Press, 1992.