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內容簡介（英文） |
Lang Shih-ning was the Chinese name used by Giuseppe Castiglione, a native of Milan, Italy. At the age of 19, he entered the Jesuit order as a novitiate, and his early training also included painting and architectural planning. He was later sent to China, where he arrived in 1715. His skills as an artist thereupon came to the attention of the court and he served under three emperors (Yung-cheng, K'ang-hsi, and Ch’ien-lung) as a painter. He combined his previous art training with his studies of Chinese painting to create a hybrid technique that fused the essence of both traditions and that had an influence on court style at the time. He excelled at painting figures, birds-and-flowers, animals, and landscapes.
This painting depicts the monthly rose, rock-and-bamboo, and chrysanthemums in full bloom along with spirit fungus. The blossoming red flowers, spirit fungus, and the overall greenery symbolize prosperity and long life. The expression for long life in Chinese (wan-shou), as evident in the title of this work, was used by officials as a congratulatory wish for emperors and empresses on their birthdays. This work incorporates the materials and techniques of Chinese painting, such as traditional line and texturing manners, but the flowers have a realistic appearance that reveals Western methods of painting. The seal and signature of Castiglione on this work include the character for “Your servitor,” revealing that he did it for the court.
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內容簡介（英文） |
Lang Shih-ning is the Chinese name used by the Italian, Giuseppe Castiglione. At the age of 19, he entered the Jesuit order as a novitiate, and his early training included painting and architecture. He was then sent to China and he arrived in 1715. His artistic skills came to the attention of the court and he served under three emperors as a painter. He combined his previous art training with his studies of Chinese painting to create a hybrid technique that fused the essence of both traditions.
The expression for long life (wan-shou) was used by officials as a congratulatory wish for the emperor and empress on their birthdays. The blooming flowers, spirit fungus, and overall greenery symbolize a prosperous and long life.
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