Attributed to Giuseppe Castiglione: The Qianlong Emperor in Ceremonial Armor on Horseback (1739)

 

(The Palace Museum, Bejing, China)

A painting attributed to the Italian Jesuit en artist Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766). This Western-style portrait shows the Qianlong Emperor (1711 – 1799), the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor was a capable and cultured ruler and during his long reign of 61 years, the Qing Empire reached its most splendid and prosperous era. This painting was hung in the central banquet hall of the Nanyuan, or "Southern park". The Nanyuan was an imperial hunting domain where reviews of the imperial troops were done, hunting parties were held, and where the Qianlong emperor frequently received dignitaries who would sit and wait in a room looking at this painting before meeting the emperor in person. Today this is the site of Nanhaizi Park in the south of Beijing. Painting from 1739.