The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): Painting

Wang Hui and Wang Shimin: Landscapes after Ancient Masters

Gao Cen: Landscapes after Ancient Masters

Yuan Jiang: The Palace of Nine Perfections

Wang Hui and assistants: The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Tour, Scroll Three: Ji'nan to Mount Tai

Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining): One Hundred Horses

Portrait of the Imperial Bodyguard Zhanyinbao [China]

Xu Yang: The Qianlong Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Six: Suzhou

In 1644, the Manchus, a semi-nomadic people from northeast of the Great Wall, conquered the crumbling Ming state and established their own Qing (or Pure) dynasty, which lasted nearly 300 years. During the first half of this period, the Manchus extended their rule over a vast empire that grew to encompass new territories in Central Asia, Tibet, and Siberia. The Manchus also established their hegemony over Chinese cultural traditions as an important means of demonstrating their legitimacy as Confucian-style rulers.

The brilliant reigns of the Kangxi (r. 1662–1722) and Qianlong (r. 1736–95) emperors display a period when the Manchus embraced Chinese cultural traditions and the court became a leading patron in the arts as China enjoyed an extended period of political stability and economic prosperity.

Three principal groups of artists were working during the Qing: the traditionalists, who sought to revitalize painting through the creative reinterpretation of past models; the individualists, who practiced a deeply personal form of art that often carried a strong message of political protest; and the courtiers, the officials, and the professional artists who served at the Manchu court.

Maxwell K. Hearn
Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation for this page

Hearn, Maxwell K. "The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): Painting". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/qing_1/hd_qing_1.htm (October 2003)

Suggested Web Link(s)

The University of Chicago Center for the Art of East Asia Digital Scrolling Paintings Project

More Information on www.metmuseum.org
Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

    The Artist as Collector: Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the C. C. Wang Family Collection
    Dreams of Yellow Mountain: Landscapes of Survival in Seventeenth-Century China
    A Millennium of Chinese Painting: Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection
    When the Manchus Ruled China: Painting under the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)

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Asian Art: Features & Exhibitions; Collection; Online Resources (links); Books in the Met Store

Asia, China, Asia, Central and North Asia, Landscape, Painting, Ink on Silk, East Asia, China, Scroll, Paper, Calligraphy, Calligraphy, East Asia, Scroll, Silk, Yuan Jiang (Chinese, active ca. 1690-1746), Shitao (Zhu Ruoji) (Chinese, 1642-1707) , Castiglione, Giuseppe (Italian, 1688-1766), Painting, Ink on Silk, East Asia, Painting, Ink on Paper, East Asia, China, Landscape, East Asia, China, Kuncan (Chinese, 1612-1673), Wang Hui (Chinese, 1632-1717), Wang Yuanqi (Chinese, 1642-1715), Wu Li (Chinese, 1632-1718), Religious Art, Buddhism, Scroll, Literature and Literary Connections

Department of Asian Art

Art of the Edo Period (1615-1868), Chosôn Punch'ông Ware: Between Celadon and Porcelain, Kano School, Ming Dynasty, Northern Song Dynasty, The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911): Loyalists And Individualists, The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911): The Courtiers, Officials, and Professional Artists, The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911): The Traditionalists, Southern Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Abridged List of Rulers: China, Work and Leisure: 18th-Century Korean Genre Painting, Scholar-Officials of China, Chinese Gardens and Collectors' Rocks, Nature in Chinese Culture, Painting Formats in East Asian Art,

Central and North Asia, 1600-1800 A.D., China, 1600-1800 A.D., Himalayan Region, 1600-1800 A.D., Japan, 1600-1800 A.D., Korea, 1600-1800 A.D.,

East Asia, 1600-1800 A.D., East Asia, 1800-1900 A.D.

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