EDUTAINMENT
China Trade
Thomas Allom (1804-72), House of a Chinese Merchant
The belief that everything good and useful was already invented in China meant for a long time that it was unnecessary for the Chinese to adopt foreign achievements. Even though China had been opened to the west since Marco Polo's journey at the end of the 13th century, Chinese art remained largely uninfluenced by the west, despite trade and an art and cultural exchange, which were facilitated by the Silk Road. The adoption of foreign elements from both sides in art first occurred when European missionaries arrived in China, most notably with the arrival of the Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci in 1601 in Peking.
In the footsteps of the Jesuits western artists traveled to China to document views from this remote country. This developed into an art section of its own that is today in high demand among art collectors under the term "China Trade".
Missionaries in China
The Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) traveled as a missionary's assistant to China in 1582 during the Ming Era. He was recognized for his scholarship and managed to learn not only the Chinese language but also its script. Ricci also presented the first world map in China - with China in the center. He befriended high ranking Confucians and earned respect as a mathematician. His missionary publications represent an intellectual exchange between the Occident and East Asia. In 1596 he became the first European to be granted stay in China's capital, and after studying mathematics, astronomy and geography, he settled in 1601 in Nanjing. He was highly respected as a scientist even by the Emperor Wanli. At his death Ricci left behind four missionaries in China with about 2,500 Christians.
While Matteo Ricci was more of an intermediary of general cultural knowledge, his successor Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) explicitly fostered an exchange of art. In 1715 Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit, came to China mainly as a painter to the Qing court and soon found support among brothers from his order, Jean-Denis Attiret and Ignaz Sichelbarth. They painted together and their themes included portraits, flowers, animals and landscapes in oil paintings on canvas. They introduced to the Chinese court the achievements of European painters, for example central perspective or Chiaroscuro techniques. In turn, Castiglione had to learn the Chinese art of painting under Emperor Qianlong. He earned a high place in the art world, however, with his Chinese paintings on paper or silk.
Art Production in China in the 18th and 19th Centuries
French Artist, A Street in Canton
In 1757 all Chinese ports with the exception of Guangzhou (Canton) were closed to Sino and western trade. Therefore Chinese products like oil paintings, fine watercolors and gouaches on rice paper were considered rare and were highly demanded. These works were mostly silk covered cassettes arranged in a series of 12 pictures, and offered insight into Chinese production and trade knowledge: businesses and street peddlers, silk, cotton and porcelain manufacturing, tea and rice production. Additionally there were fine paintings with flowers, birds, butterflies and insects. In the 19th century, however, ports became an increasingly popular theme, especially those of Canton, Whampoa, Hong Kong, Macao and Bocca Tigris.
Rice paper is a rather fragile canvas. Therefore very few pieces with vivid colors and fascinating precision have lasted and they are today extremely sought after on the art market. The stamp of the artist or his studio can often be found on the cover among complete cassettes. The names Tingqua, Sunqua and Youqua often appear among high quality pieces from the 1830s to the 1850s.
European Artists Visit China
Some European artists visited East Asia at the end of the 18th century, mostly in attendance of businessmen and diplomats, who dealt with trade with China and India. East Indian trading companies from England, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Sweden flourished; and brought with them cultural exchanges. The English painter and etcher Thomas Daniell visited the port cities of Macao and Canton in 1785 with his nephew and student William Daniell. Afterwards he produced in 1810 a series of 15 aquatint prints. Lord Amherst traveled in 1816 with three artists to China. The Amherst Mission failed more miserably than the previous Macartney Mission, however, since Lord Amherst did not once get the attention of the emperor.
William Alexander (1767-1816) brought back comprehensive reports in the form of numerous sketches and watercolors from the 1792/93 trip with the ambassador Lord Macartney to China - later published as etchings in "Macartney's Embassy." On the outward journey, pictures of the Emperor Qianlong were handed out to the British artists as gifts. These expensive gifts were accepted out of courtesy, and given to the British king with opulent alms. But despite the gifts, trade restrictions on British traders remained in place. Nevertheless, William Alexander profited from the paintings he produced in China, whereas Thomas Hickey, another official court painter, did not. Alexander's paintings demonstrate above all his thorough studies of ethnographic, geographic and botanical art.
The 1801 published collection, "Punishment of China," features commentated and colored etchings about the Chinese methods for punishing offenses. Major Mason meticulously documented them including the dreadful torture scenes. As a member of the military he saw China with a different perspective, compared with architect, Thomas Allom (1804-1872). Allom focused on city views as well as scenes from daily life and published an impressive set of steel engravings in 1845 under the title "China Illustrated."
French artists also visited China, for example August Borget (1809-1877), who traveled from 1838 to 1839 to Macao, Canton and around the southern Chinese coast. In Macao he met George Chinnery (1774-1852), the English artist, who studied with William Turner and arrived in China via Ireland and India. In addition to numerous oil paintings and water colors, Chinnery produces thousands of sketches and drawings, which he later used for his paintings. As a teacher he also enjoyed great prestige, from which his assistant in Macao, Kwan-Kiu Chin (1801-1860), also known as Lamqua, profited.
Export of Chinese Art
Thomas Allom, A Mandarin Paying a Visit of Ceremony
Chinnery's assistant Lamqua established his own studio in Canton and adopted the English style. His paintings were exhibited in the London Royal Academy. Increasing trade relations since the end of the 18th century with the United States paved the way for his art. In 1851, Lamqua exhibited his work at the Apollo Club in New York and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Thus he achieved great importance in Chinese art.
Like his successors, Lamqua never emerged from the shadow of his master. His paintings were attributed to the Chinnery school of art, for which Chinnery himself also occasionally falsely took credit, damaging Lamqua's reputation. Although none of his successors managed to near Chinnery's mastery, Lamqua himself, however, did earn a high international reputation. And the fact that his works have survived in the western art world attests to this.
Like Lamqua, Sunqua also achieved a considerable artistic mastery. His pictures, which are only occasionally signed, are distinguished by their powerful and precise style as well as by their elongated figures. Youqua also claimed international praise, especially with his brilliant port city views. Also worth mentioning here is Lamqua's younger brother Tingqua, whose gorgeous pictures are among the finest and most detailed works of his time.
Today's Art Market
On today's art market, the works of the afore mentioned visiting European artists in China are extremely sought after. They document a highly fascinating historical period, as observed by outsiders while offering vivid insight into the history of China. These works are, for the most part, high quality sketches, watercolors and also etchings, which came later. No less fascinating are the works that emerged in China. European and Chinese artists found their own stylistic synthesis in China, that captures a special significance in the art history of the world. The rarity of such a context today has made these works well sought after on the art market and they are increasingly becoming collector's items.
Search for China Trade
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