Portrait of the Imperial Guard Zhanyinbao
Under the Manchu emperors of the Qing dynasty, portraiture again became an important court-sponsored art. This full-length depiction of an imperial bodyguard of the first rank is from a set of one hundred portraits of loyal officials and valiant warriors commissioned by the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736–95) that originally hung in the Hall of Imperial […]
Giuseppe Castiglione’s One Hundred Horses in Motions
During the eighteenth century, the Manchu Qing dynasty sponsored a major revival of courtly arts, which attained a new monumental scale, technical finish, and descriptive intricacy. A key figure in establishing this new court aesthetic was the Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione. A master of vividly naturalistic draftsmanship and large-scale compositions, in Europe he worked as […]
Chinese Painting
By Maxwell Hearn The Chinese way of appreciating a painting is often expressed by the words du hua, “to read a painting.” How does one do that? Consider Night-Shining White by Han Gan (1977.78), an image of a horse. Originally little more than a foot square, it is now mounted as a handscroll that is […]
Show and Tell: Exploring Storytelling in Chinese Painting
By Shi-yee Liu «The genre of narrative painting in China reached full maturity as early as the fourth century and continues to thrive today. The exhibition Show and Tell: Stories in Chinese Painting—on view at The Met Fifth Avenue through August 6, 2017—explores how Chinese painters have told stories that promote political and cultural agendas […]
Chinese Painting, Appreciation of This Art
By Maxwell Hearn Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Chinese way of appreciating a painting is often expressed by the words du hua, “to read a painting.” How does one do that? Consider Night-Shining White by Han Gan (1977.78), an image of a horse. Originally little more than a foot square, […]