How Jesuit Artists Contributed to the Glory of Imperial China
Ged Clapson, Jesuit Communications Officer, visits the latest exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts
Jesuits figure prominently in a magnificent exhibition being staged at the Royal Academy of Arts in London until mid-April. China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795 is devoted to the artistic and cultural riches of Imperial China- in particular the three most powerful rulers of China’s last dynasty, the Qing: the Emperors Kangxi (1662-1722), Yongzheng (1723-35) and Qianlong (1736-95).
Each Emperor employed the greatest artists and craftsmen of his day to glorify his rule.
The RAA exhibition features over 370 treasures, including precious robes and palace furnishings, paintings and painted scrolls, weapons and ceremonial armour, clocks and astronomical instruments, antique jades and bronzes, ingenious scientific instruments, fine porcelain, carvings and lacquer ware, elegant furniture, a sedan chair and an imperial throne.
The Qing were curious about foreign dress and practices and recorded them in several paintings. The Jesuits, who had gone to China to evangelise in the 16th and 17th centuries, became important members of the Qing Court, providing technical advice on scientific instruments and inspiring Chinese court artists to emulate foreign styles. The Jesuits supplied the court with maps, instruments and treatises on mathematics and astronomy. They also oversaw the casting of instruments for the imperial observatory.
The period of Emperor Qianlong was the most prosperous time of the Qing Dynasty, and art also reached its peak. The Imperial Painting Academy included Jesuits from France, Bohemia and Italy. One of the most talented and renowned artists at that time was Brother Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit, whose Chinese name was Lang Shining. He was born in Milan in 1688 and trained as an artist before working in Genoa, Lisbon and Macao. In 1715, at the age of 27, he was sent to China and admitted into the imperial court.
The Emperor Kangxi was very fond of Castiglione’s oil paintings, and this fact kept him in the court till the end of his life. Many of his works were based on true incidents, and have great historical value nowadays.
Jessica Rawson of the Royal Academy says Castiglione was very influential: ‘His painting of a white hawk, an analogue for the Yongzheng Emperor, and the portrait of the Qianlong Emperor on horseback are among some of the most dramatic works in the exhibition.
Giuseppe Castiglione died in 1766, and was buried in Beijing. His works, and other Jesuit influences on imperial China, can be seen in the Three Emperors exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly, London until 17th April 2006.
Jesuits figure prominently in a magnificent exhibition being staged at the Royal Academy of Arts in London until mid-April. China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795 is devoted to the artistic and cultural riches of Imperial China- in particular the three most powerful rulers of China’s last dynasty, the Qing: the Emperors Kangxi (1662-1722), Yongzheng (1723-35) and Qianlong (1736-95).
Each Emperor employed the greatest artists and craftsmen of his day to glorify his rule.
The RAA exhibition features over 370 treasures, including precious robes and palace furnishings, paintings and painted scrolls, weapons and ceremonial armour, clocks and astronomical instruments, antique jades and bronzes, ingenious scientific instruments, fine porcelain, carvings and lacquer ware, elegant furniture, a sedan chair and an imperial throne.
The Qing were curious about foreign dress and practices and recorded them in several paintings. The Jesuits, who had gone to China to evangelise in the 16th and 17th centuries, became important members of the Qing Court, providing technical advice on scientific instruments and inspiring Chinese court artists to emulate foreign styles. The Jesuits supplied the court with maps, instruments and treatises on mathematics and astronomy. They also oversaw the casting of instruments for the imperial observatory.
The period of Emperor Qianlong was the most prosperous time of the Qing Dynasty, and art also reached its peak. The Imperial Painting Academy included Jesuits from France, Bohemia and Italy. One of the most talented and renowned artists at that time was Brother Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit, whose Chinese name was Lang Shining. He was born in Milan in 1688 and trained as an artist before working in Genoa, Lisbon and Macao. In 1715, at the age of 27, he was sent to China and admitted into the imperial court.
The Emperor Kangxi was very fond of Castiglione’s oil paintings, and this fact kept him in the court till the end of his life. Many of his works were based on true incidents, and have great historical value nowadays.
Jessica Rawson of the Royal Academy says Castiglione was very influential: ‘His painting of a white hawk, an analogue for the Yongzheng Emperor, and the portrait of the Qianlong Emperor on horseback are among some of the most dramatic works in the exhibition.
Giuseppe Castiglione died in 1766, and was buried in Beijing. His works, and other Jesuit influences on imperial China, can be seen in the Three Emperors exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly, London until 17th April 2006.