Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts

Giuseppe Castiglione painted the Qianlong Emperor and his twelve consorts in a handscroll format. Ink and color on silk, completed between 1736 and the 1770s. Cleveland Museum of Art.

The handscroll medium allowed for an expansive portrayal, typical of Chinese artistic traditions. Castiglione merged these with European techniques.

Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit, worked at the Qing court under three emperors. His style was a blend of European and Chinese art forms.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.31

https://oolf.net/open-art/castiglione-portraits-of-the-qianlong-emperor-and-his-twelve-consorts-1736/