European Techniques In Xu Yang's Spring In The Qing Dynasty

As the final feudal dynasty the Qing dynasty ensued through a period of destruction and bloodshed, it became a time of change. A people from northeast China called the Manchus overtook the Ming dynasty, and while there was resistance for the first forty years from the literati, it eventually died down, allowing the rulers to relax and become fervent patrons of the arts. When the Qing dynasty transpired, Jesuit missionaries had already been in China for years, but their influence hit its peak during the High Qing period of 1736-1795, where under Emperor Qianlong China entered a time of “...political, economic, and cultural supremacy, in which the empire’s boarders were expanded.” (Barnhart 252) Due to this change of ruler, the European missionaries, …show more content…
There was a trading of subject matter and techniques between the Chinese and Europeans and while the Chinese in the courts were open to both new subject matter and techniques the Europeans were seemingly only interested in their subject matter. As for the Europeans it was easy for them to just add in the traditional subject matter, while keeping to their techniques, it was a much more trying process for the Chinese court painters to try and bring the European techniques into their more emotionally and spiritually driven painting style. In Xu Yang’s painting, Spring in the Capital (fig. 4) there is an attempt to craft every detail in perspective, but since there is no single vanishing point the piece does not come across as effective. This is especially true since the use of traditional Chinese techniques to render the background and landscaping in the piece are incredibly flat. When comparing this piece to Castiglione’s Auspicious Objects (fig. 3), there is a harsh contrast in the realistic feeling Castiglione presents, compared to subdued color palette and inaccurate perspective seen in Xu’s piece (Barnhart 285). Another piece that displays the Chinese painters attempts to emulate European styles, was Zhang Weibang’s The Glory of the New Year (Fig. 5). When this piece is also compared to Spring in the Capital (fig. 4), the attempts to recreate European styles are clearly seen. The colors are not as muted and the still-life set up feel realistic and like the pieces have volume. While the pieces are still not in one-point perspective, the superimposed set up combined with the shading of the pieces gives it a more believable feel like the European pieces that Zhang studied. Like Castiglione’s piece, Zhang’s also give the feeling of a specific light source accompanied by a more atmospheric light to give the piece a sense of being in actual