Foreigners left Qianlong's true appearance, which is different from the secret story on TV
Time passes every second, and although it cannot be kept, the camera can freeze the time and keep that good time.
People have always had a Xi of recording memories. Today, we can take photos with our hands to record our image, but in the past, there were no recording tools such as mobile phones and cameras, so what should we do?This is how the profession of painter was born.
The difference between Chinese and Western paintings.
In the old days of our country, people could only record their images through portraits painted by painters.
Western painting pays attention to objectivity and the simulation of form, trying to be realistic and realistic. For example, in many Western paintings, portraits, houses, and ships are depicted as real objects.
Compared with Western oil paintings, which pay more attention to realism, traditional Chinese painting emphasizes the meaning rather than the form.
Chinese portrait painting focuses on subjectivity and attractiveness. The purpose of Chinese character painting is only to show the size and proportion of each character and express the beauty of artistic conception.
This is why Zhu Yuanzhang's image is extremely ugly, which makes people doubt his true face.
Therefore, when it comes to studying the physical appearance of indigenous people and seeking authenticity, we are more inclined to trust the portraits painted by European artists.
The most famous and advanced European painter in ancient China was undoubtedly Lang Shining.
The oil painting "Bust of Qianlong Winter Clothes" shows the whole picture of Qianlong, and is considered to be the oil painting work closest to the real appearance of Qianlong, allowing future generations to have a deeper understanding of Qianlong's appearance. The painting is currently in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Yinchuan.
Speaking of this character, we must first get to know Emperor Qianlong, whose full name is Aixin Jueluo-Hongli, who was the fourth emperor after the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs and the only one who dared to boast of himself in more than 2,000 years of feudal society"Top 10 Old Men of the Manchu Dynasty"of the Emperor.
Unique style.
Lang Shining was an Italian missionary who came to China at the age of 27 and served in the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties. He was proficient in Chinese and Manchu, and was an official of the third rank.
Now many people may ask, how can a person from the West gain a firm foothold in the closed country?
In 1715, during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Lang Shining came to the Qing Dynasty, knowing that he would not be able to obtain a position as a Western missionary in the Qing Dynasty.
But Lang Shining was not only a missionary, but also a painter, and he was very fortunate to be summoned by Kangxi, who also loved art.
Although Kangxi did not approve of Lang Shining's religious beliefs, he considered him an artist and liked him very much.
Lang Shining also naturally became a painter in the palace, specializing in painting for the emperor.
As Kangxi's imperial painter, the Italian was unique among many court painters.
The Chinese court painters of the time focused on divinity and form, reflecting the ancient Chinese tradition of painting that emphasized meaning over form.
Since many Chinese court painters feared that their paintings would anger the emperor, causing him misfortune and various restrictions, most portraits were decorative, and it was believed that neither the emperor himself nor the painter knew to whom the painting belonged when it was completed.
Compared with the exaggerated portraits painted by Chinese painters to show the splendor of the emperor, Lang Shining's "Picture of the Emperor Kangxi" is more in line with the real situation of Qianlong.
Because he didn't have to curry favor with the emperor, he didn't have to worry about official restrictions. He only pursues art in his heart, and this attitude of keeping his heart is the essence of good painting.
While Lang Shining has a very solid sketching skills, Chinese painting has a strong Western realist style, combining smooth ink lines, meticulous layers, and unique use of color, combining East and West, while further cementing his status as an official painter.
Clever Lang Shining.
During the Kangxi period, Lang Shining also stayed in the Forbidden City as a court painter, but the good times did not last long. In 1722, Kangxi died and Yongzheng ascended the throne, and we speculate that Lang Shining may be the newly enthroned Yongzheng Emperor who was driven out of the Forbidden City.
But the foreigners who could stay and work for the emperor were not unemployed, so Lang Shining prepared for a long time.
When Yongzheng took the opportunity of Yongzheng's ascension to the throne and gave him a painting he made, Yongzheng saw the happiness in Yongzheng's eyes and the happiness in Yongzheng's heart, thus re-establishing his status as a court painter.
Lang Shining's career reached its peak after Qianlong ascended the throne, because Qianlong liked calligraphy and painting very much, so as soon as he ascended the throne, Lang Shining became the chief painter of the court, and was even allowed to participate in the design of the twelve monsters of the Old Summer Palace, which shows the importance he received.
Lang Shining's legendary life.
After Qianlong ascended the throne at the age of 24, he would go to the workshop every day to watch Lang Shining paint. Lang Shining was 47 years old at the time and was well versed in court affairs.
In order to make Qianlong's life shine, Lang Shining created a large number of paintings, including daily hunting life, military parades, southern tours, etc., until he finally received a commission to paint portraits of Qianlong and his wife.
Qianlong and His Wife is also one of Qianlong's most famous public portraits, probably painted by Lang Shining in the first year of Qianlong, and depicts Qianlong with the empress and his eleven wives.
In 1766, Lang Shining finally died at the age of 78 and was buried in the same place where he had lived for more than 50 years, and the Qianlong Emperor held a private funeral for him to thank him for his life's work for the imperial court and his artistic career.
Since arriving in China at the age of 27, he has worked as a court painter for more than 50 years, never returning to his native Milan to devote himself to art.
No one knows how much Lang Shining misses his hometown. He witnessed the reform and administrative changes of the Qing Dynasty, wrote portraits of the three legendary emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, and painted colorful historical pictures with his own brush.
The distant stranger's contributions to Chinese history and art were enormous, and he showed that Qianlong was not what he was in film and television.
Painting is inanimate, but the person who paints can breathe life into the portrait. Whenever I see the portrait of Emperor Qianlong so expressive, I seem to also see Lang Shining's hand, slowly drawing him out one stroke at a time, lifelike.
We all remember the legendary painter Lang Shining.