Ring-tailed Lemur from Cochin China

A ring-tailed lemur is shown here on the trunk of a peach tree, its branches full of pink blossoms and with seven large fruit. Giuseppe Castiglione employed fine, short strokes of light ink with gradations of color to suggest light and volume. Depicting the alternating rings of black and white as well as the animal’s fluffy fur, he has made an accurate and realistic portrayal here. The background landscape was done mostly with traditional “axe-cut” texture strokes to which blue-and-green washes were added with scattered fine dots of ink, representing the work of the court artist Jin Tingbiao (?-1767). At the top of the painting is a transcription of “Imperial Poetry on a Cochin Lemur,” which was composed in Qianlong’s 26th year on the throne, or 1761. That year was also the seventieth birthday of Qianlong’s mother, Lady Niuhuru (1692-1777), so this work was probably painted specifically to bless her with a long life.