Timeline of Art History

The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): Painting

The court became a leading patron in the arts as China enjoyed an extended period of political stability and economic prosperity.
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Landscape in the style of Huang Gongwang, Wang Shimin  Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
Wang Shimin
1666
The Sixteen Luohans, Shitao (Zhu Ruoji)  Chinese, Handscroll; ink on paper, China
Shitao (Zhu Ruoji)
dated 1667
Landscapes Painted for Yuweng, Fan Qi  Chinese, Album of eight leaves; ink and color on paper, China
Fan Qi
dated 1673
Landscapes after old masters, Wang Hui  Chinese, Album of twelve leaves; ink and color on paper, China
Wang Hui
Wang Shimin
dated 1674 and 1677
Whiling Away the Summer at the Ink-Well Thatched Hut, Wu Li  Chinese, Handscroll; ink on paper, China
Wu Li
1679
Landscapes and trees, Gong Xian  Chinese, Album of twelve leaves; ink on paper, China
Gong Xian
ca. 1679
Ten Thousand Miles along the Yellow River, Unidentified artist Chinese, active late 17th–early 18th century, Two handscrolls; ink, color, and gold on silk, China
Unidentified artist
datable to 1690–1722
Wooded Mountains at Dusk, Kuncan  Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, China
Kuncan
dated 1666
The Palace of Nine Perfections, Yuan Jiang  Chinese, Set of twelve hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk, China
Yuan Jiang
1691
Returning Home, Shitao (Zhu Ruoji)  Chinese, Album of twelve leaves; ink and color on paper, China
Shitao (Zhu Ruoji)
ca. 1695
The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Three: Ji'nan to Mount Tai, Wang Hui and assistants Chinese, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Wang Hui
datable to 1698
Landscapes in the styles of old masters, Gao Cen  Chinese, Album of ten leaves; ink and color on silk, China
Gao Cen
1667
Fish and rocks, Bada Shanren (Zhu Da)  Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da)
dated 1699
Guan Yu, Unidentified artist , ca. 1700, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, China
Unidentified artist
ca. 1700
Wangchuan Villa, Wang Yuanqi  Chinese, Handscroll; ink and color on paper, China
Wang Yuanqi
dated 1711
One Hundred Horses, Giuseppe Castiglione  Italian, Handscroll; ink on paper, China
Giuseppe Castiglione
datable to 1723–25
Portrait of the imperial guard Zhanyinbao, Unidentified artist Chinese, 18th century, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, China
Unidentified artist
dated 1760
The Qianlong Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, Scroll Six: Entering Suzhou along the Grand Canal, Xu Yang and assistants Chinese, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
Xu Yang
dated 1770

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.


Contributors

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

October 2003


Further Reading

Barnhart, Richard M., et al. Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting. New Haven and Beijing: Yale University Press and Foreign Languages Press, 1997.

Barnhart, Richard M., Wen C. Fong, and Maxwell K. Hearn. Mandate of Heaven: Emperors and Artists in China: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exhibition catalogue. Zürich: Museum Rietberg, 1996.

Cahill, James. Chinese Painting. Geneva: Skira, 1960.


Citation

View Citations

Hearn, Maxwell K. “The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): Painting.” In Heilbrunn 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)