Portrait of Empress Xiaoxian
in winter ceremonial robe (c. 1737)
Artist: attributed to Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766)
Wood, silk, paper, metal hardware; silk wrapper
194 x 116 cm.
Height: 107 1/8”; Width: 51 ¾”; Depth: 1 ¾”
Splendors of
China’s
Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign
of Emperor Qianlong
Splendors of China’s Forbidden City
is devoted to the long reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795). The
exhibition concentrates on Qianlong’s 18th-century period, the last
grand era of the Chinese empire. During his long reign, Emperor
Qianlong became the epitome of a great Chinese ruler, at once
all-powerful and civilized. The Chinese empire reached its largest
geographic spread under his rule, while life in China was both peaceful
and prosperous. The exhibition investigates how Qianlong achieved this
magnificent level. Politically adept, he recognized and supported all
facets of Chinese civilization. Although he was a Manchu and remained
proud of his nomad forebears, he cultivated the Han Chinese, who formed
the majority of the Chinese people. Like his predecessors, the Kangxi
and Yongzheng emperors, Qianlong carried out a balancing act between
his Manchu heritage and the culture of Han China, which the Manchu Qing
dynasty had conquered. (continued from the Curator’s essay: about the
exhibit and the art we will continue to see here:)
Qianlong was a Renaissance ruler with a variety of skills and
interests, and the next section illustrates his personal taste. This
theme of symbols of imperial power continues with a recreation of the
imperial throne room from which Qianlong reigned. Large and
awe-inspiring, the center of the room is the emperor’s red and gold
throne. Adjacent to this are two portraits, attributed to Italian
painter Guiseppe Castiglione, of the emperor and his first empress
Xiaoxian. The Jesuit court-artist produced these formal court images of
the emperor and empress sitting on thrones, clothed in gorgeous robes.
During the Qing period, dragon robes had strong hierarchic symbolism,
with the emperor’s robes at the top of the ranking system. The dragon
on the front of his robe indicates that the ruler is the center of the
universe. Here is Qianlong in full, solemn glory.
Qianlong remained devoted to his wife Xiaoxian, even after her untimely
death; the way he valued her can be seen in the unusual way the empress
raises her hand in a gesture of power, rather than folding it, and in
the fact that she sits on a dragon throne, rather than the female
phoenix throne.
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