Views and Perspectives on Chinese Export Art – Asian Art in London

Celebrating their 30th anniversary, Jorge Welsh Works of Art will hold a commemorative exhibition, during Asian Art in London.

The exhibition A Time and A Place: Views and Perspectives on Chinese Export Art focuses on the representation of European buildings and landscapes, Meissen scenes and Chinese cities and landscapes on Chinese export porcelain and other painted mediums. The exhibition is not only about cultural exchanges between Europe and China, reflected in 18th century Chinese porcelains and works of art made for export, but also on the extraordinary skills of the talented Chinese painters that copied European sources, such as prints and different prototypes.

jorge-welsh_a-time-and-a-place_macao-panel_detail-copy

–

为了庆祝成立30周年,在伦敦亚洲艺术周期间, Jorge Welsh Works of Art 将举办一场纪念展览。本次展览《一时一地:中国外销艺术品中的视角与透视法》将以描绘欧洲建筑和景致,迈森瓷器彩绘和中国城市与景致的中国外销瓷及其他绘画介质作品作为主题。本次展览不仅展现了 18 世纪中国出口外销瓷和其它艺术作品所反映出的中欧之间的文化交流,同时也将呈现中国天才画师们复刻欧洲艺术品原件,如印刷品及其他模型原件的高超工艺。

–

The 18th century saw the rise of “Views and Perspectives” as a theme in the hierarchy of the European arts. Representations of landscapes and the built environment were occasionally made to document the evolution throughout the time of an area of land. The increasing popularity of this subject was influenced by the ideal of “Picturesque”, which desired a harmonic combination of different elements that fulfilled the condition of being agreeable to the eye, and required to create a ‘picture’. It was also influenced by Antiquarianism, which developed as a consequence of a general curiosity for the past. It is in this commemorative, curious and documental sense that this type of representation was commissioned to be painted on Asian works of art for the Western markets. It was commissioned for various purposes, such as a family remembrance, status, religious and political token, or simply as a souvenir. The sources for these scenes are mostly prints, but medals and European ceramic prototypes were also copied in various degrees of accuracy.

———–Advert———–

———–Advert———–

18 世纪的欧洲艺术作品以不同视角和透视法作为衡量作品水平高低的分水岭之一。描绘景致与建筑的艺术作品往往在不经意间记录下了某一地区的时空变迁。这一日趋流行的主题受到了“古雅”主题的影响,力求在同一画面呈现的多种元素和谐相融,以求达到“如画”的效果。同时它还受到复古主义的影响,衍

生出对过去事物的普遍好奇。正是出于这种纪念,猎奇和记录的目的,西方市场开始订购绘有这类图案的亚洲艺术品。人们青睐这类艺术品的目的多样,有出于家族纪念目的,有出于地位,宗教和政治象征目的,或仅仅是作为纪念品购买。这类作品的原始素材大多出自印刷品,然而勋章和其他一些欧洲瓷器的模板同样在不同程度上被精确复制。

jorgewelsh_a-time-and-a-place_macao-wood-panel-copy

This exhibition will focus on those views and perspectives that show buildings in their settings, extending chronologically through the late-17th until the late 19th century, and covering a range of works of art that are illustrative of interest in the subject as a type of cultural expression. Ranging from individual plates, dinner services, tea sets, punch bowls, mugs, snuff boxes, urns, cisterns, vases, and plaques made in porcelain, to folding fans, painted ivory plaques, lacquer, and canvas, these pieces are hybrid objects, both Chinese and European, becoming historical testimonies of artistic interactions between the two cultures.

foundling-hospital-detail_punch-bowl1-copy

–

本次展览将集中展示 17 世纪晚期到 19 世纪晚期不同环境中的建筑形象的视角与透视法,并涵盖多件在这一主题的文化表达层面具有象征性的艺术品。展品包括瓷质的单件盘,晚餐餐具套组,茶具套组,大酒杯,马克杯,鼻烟盒,瓮, 贮水器,花瓶和饰板,折扇,象牙绘画饰板,漆器及画布,这些展品是中欧艺术融合的产物,并见证了两种文化间的艺术交流与碰撞。

–

One highlight of the exhibition is a rectangular wooden panel lacquered in black and gold and decorated with a view of the peninsula of Macau seen from the northwest, dating from the first half of the 18th century. All the major landmarks along the peninsula are represented in detail, including some adjacent geological sites, such as the almost circular Ilha Verde on the left, placed in front of the peninsula formed by the isthmus, where Portas do Cerco is represented. To the right, still on the outskirts of the city, are some Chinese houses representing a small village. A panel decorated with an almost identical view of Macau within a gilt leaf scrolling ornamental border, probably made at the same time and in the same workshop as this example, is in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon. Other relevant piece is a porcelain punch bowl from the Qianlong period that depicts on one side a scene of Vauxhall Gardens, based on an engraving by Johann Sebastian Müller (1715-1792) after a painting by the English artist Samuel Wale (1721-1786), and on the other, the Foundling Hospital, based on an engraving dating to 1753, by T. Bowles (1695-1767) after L. P. Boitard (fl. 1733-1767). Both were fashionable places in London, the gardens from the late 17th century, and the hospital from the mid-18th century onwards.

–

本次展览的亮点之一是一件 18 世纪上半叶制,以西北方视角展现澳门半岛景致的黑底金纹四方形漆制木板。澳门半岛沿岸的所有主要地标都被细致地描绘呈

现,其中包括一些毗连的地理坐标,如左方描绘有位于半岛的前部,几乎呈环状的青洲,由地峡形成,关闸正位于此处。右方为城市的郊区,绘有一个由中式房屋点缀的小村落。现藏于里斯本国家古代艺术博物馆的另一件木板,边缘由镀金卷叶图案装饰,上绘澳门风景与这件木板几乎完全一致,很可能是由同一时代的同一工坊所制。本次展览的另一佳作是一件乾隆年间制作的大海碗, 一面上绘有临摹约翰·穆勒(Johann Sebastian Müller) (1715-1792)雕刻的由英国艺术家萨缪·威尔(Samuel Wale) (1721-1786)绘制的佛贺公园 (Vauxhall Gardens)风景,另一面绘有临摹 1753 年路易·波塔德(L. P. Boitard)(活跃于 1733-1767)创作,鲍尔斯(T. Bowles)(1695-1767) 润色的雕刻作品育婴院(Foundling Hospital)。花园和育婴院分别自17世纪晚期和 18 世纪中期以来,双双成为了伦敦的时尚之所。

–

Jorge Welsh explains what is so special about this exhibition: “While researching for the exhibition and the catalogue, a number of sources such as prints and engravings, for previously unidentified scenes painted in Chinese porcelain were discovered and will, in some cases, be presented for the first time alongside the actual pieces. Luísa and I have been putting together relevant works of art with architectural or landscaped themes since 2003, having amassed a collection of over 140 porcelains, paintings and works of art, 122 of which are illustrated and discussed in the 84 entries of the exhibition catalogue.”

–

Jorge Welsh 先生谈及这次展会特色时说道:“当我们为这次的展会和图册做研究时,我们发现了之前一些中国瓷器上未曾被辨认出的场景的出处,包括一些印刷品和雕刻作品,其中的一些将原始材料和这些瓷器原件共同展出。 Luísa 与我自 2003 年起就开始收集整理建筑和风景主题的艺术作品,我们目前已经收藏了 140 件瓷器,绘画和其他艺术品,其中的 122 件将在本次展览图册的 84 个条目中图文并茂的展示说明。”