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Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts
Giuseppe Castiglione (Italian, 1688–1766) and others (Chinese)1736–70s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
This portrait shows the Qianlong emperor at 26, in the first year of his reign. His likeness is followed by portraits of the empress and eleven consorts. The first three portraits were done by the Jesuit (Roman Catholic) missionary artist Giuseppe Castiglione.
Under Qianlong, the empire expanded and Jiangnan reached a height of economic and cultural prosperity. While the southern region served in many ways as a model for garden culture, the arts, and special crafts, in return it profited and received new stimulus from the court and its culture in the north.
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Details
- Title: Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts
- Creator: Giuseppe Castiglione (Italian, 1688–1766), others (Chinese)
- Date Created: 1736–70s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 53.8 x 1154.5 cm (21 3/16 x 454 1/2 in.); Painting only: 53 x 688.3 cm (20 7/8 x 271 in.)
- Provenance: Qing imperial collection (seals of Emperor Qianlong, r. 1736-1795), (Spink & Son, Ltd., London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.31
- Medium: Handscroll; ink and color on silk
- Inscriptions: 9 seals of the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736–95)., The eighth month, first year of Qianlong [1736] 乾隆元年八月吉日. The Empress (Xiaoxian) 皇后 (1712–1748), The Guifei (Huixian) 貴妃 (?-–1745), Chunfei 純妃 (1713–1760), Jiafei 嘉妃 (?–1755), Lingfei 令妃 (1727–1775), Shufei 舒妃 (1728–1777), Qingbin 慶嬪 (1724–1774), Yingbin 穎嬪 (1731–1800), Xinbin 忻嬪 (?–1764), Dunfei 惇妃 (1746–1806), Xunfei 順妃 (1749–1788), Shunbin 循嬪 (?–1797).
- Fun Fact: Lingfei 令妃 (1727–1775), the first consort depicted in the maroon or “incense-colored" 香色 robe, was the mother of six of Qianlong’s children, including the future Emperor Jiaqing.
- Department: Chinese Art
- Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
- Credit Line: John L. Severance Fund
- Collection: ASIAN - Handscroll
- Accession Number: 1969.31
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