Herding Horses in Outskirts
By Giuseppe Castiglione,
Qing Dynasty,
hand scroll
Color on silk, 20.5x166cm, Palace Museum,
Beijing
The Jesuit missionary Giuseppe Castiglione
(1688 - 1766) was born in Milan, Italy and in his youth he studied painting in
Europe. In 1815 he arrived in China as a Jesuit monk. After arriving at Beijing,
he entered the Institute of Indulgences
in 1723 and was engaged as a court artist.
Excelling in production of portraits, animals, plants and birds, he triumphs in
depiction of horses. Blending the focus perspective, light and dark, and color
space employed in Western painting and the traditional Chinese depiction
devices such as line and ink application, he created his own personal style
that won the favor of the imperial court. His extant works include A Hundred
Horse and Emperor Hong Li Viewing Paintings.
The painting is also known as Eight Steeds.
Employing the Western realist painting
techniques in modeling three-dimensional objects, the artist presents the
horses in various postures vividly. Even the sheen of the hairs isseen, so that
the animals appear to run out at your
call. It manifests the unique artistic appealing of the Western style led by
Castiglione.