Giuseppe Castiglione, S.J. (simplified Chinese: 郞世宁; traditional Chinese: 郞世寧; pinyin: Láng Shìníng; 19 July 1688 – 17 July 1766), was an Italian Jesuit brother and missionary in China, where he served as an artist at the imperial court of three emperors – the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. He painted in a style that is a fusion of European and Chinese traditions.
 

In August 1715, Castiglione arrived in Macau, China, and reached Beijing later in the year. He stayed at a Jesuit church called St Joseph Mission or Eastern Hall (Dong Tang) in Chinese.  He was presented to the Kangxi Emperor who viewed his painting of a dog, another source said a bird was also painted on the spot on Kangxi's request. He was assigned a few disciples, but was placed to work as an artisan in the palace enameling workshop. While in China, Castiglione took the name Lang Shining (郞世寧). Castiglione adapted his Western painting style to Chinese themes and taste. His earliest surviving painting created in such style was from the first year of Yongzheng's reign in 1723. He was permitted to leave the enamel workshop by Yongzheng as it was affecting his eyesight. Although Castaglione was favored by Yongzheng who commissioned a number of works by him, Yongzheng's reign was a difficult period for Jesuits as Christianity was suppressed and those missionaries not working for the emperor were expelled. His skill as an artist was appreciated by the Qianlong Emperor, and Castiglione served the Emperor for three decades and was granted increasingly higher official rank within the Qing court.  He spent many years in the court painting various subjects, including the portraits of the emperor and empress. Qianlong showed particularly interest in paintings of tribute horses presented to Emperor on which Castiglione painted a series. Castiglione died in Beijing in 17 July 1766. An obituary was personally penned by Qianlong, who also erected a special stone in Castiglione's memory.

This picture book includes a great selection of his major paintings in 68 high quality color plates(with no text pages).

Publisher: Jiangxi Fine Art Publishing House; 1st edition (Jan, 2015)
Paperback: 68 pages

Series Title: Chinese Painting Master Classic Series
Folio: 12
ISBN: 978-7-5480-3168-0

Product Dimensions: 11"x11"
Weight: 481 g

 

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