Chinese reverse glass painting 1720-1820

Front matter

In 1977, Thierry Audric left his position as associate professor in Geology at the École nationale supérieure des Mines in Paris, to start a career as cultural

and scientific cooperation counsellor at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His duties led him to live nearly twenty years in Asia, four of which in China where he discovered the fascinating beauty of Chinese reverse glass painting.

In 2007, he decided to research this art, and discovered that it was born in the Eighteenth-century in Canton, from an artistic encounter between China and the West. Eager to make this art more widely known

Preface

The pieces made using this new technology were then transported to Canton, China where Chinese artisans removed part of the silvering that artists would later replace with paintings of pleasant scenes: landscapes or portraits that would come to life in the shifting of the light. Now their changing surfaces had stories to tell, and the mirrors were loaded onto other ships destined for Europe, by the grace of God! Those who had commissioned the works were waiting there to offer these items to their wealthy clientele.

From the commentary in this book on the production of works against the very vibrant backdrop of Canton, the hub of all commerce between China and the rest of the world

in the eighteenth century, some unexpected and little known facts emerge: How a foreign art drew the attention and then the interest of the famous and highly-learned Emperor Qianlong (reg. 1736-1796); how this type of painting combining Chinese and European conventions as well as the solid framing used to support and protect it ended up changing the role and the place of painting in Chinese interiors; how ‘made in China’ counterfeits began as early as this period—which in turn inspired an American merchant in the late eighteenth century; and, much more profoundly, how this art of traveling merchants, rich Western aristocrats, and even at one time senior Chinese officials, gave birth to new themes of representation in both cultures.

Danielle Elisseeff

+4 | The Aristocrat, the Beauty and the Falcon. | Water's Edge Landscape. Pair of painted mirrors. Gilded wooden frame, with bamboo motifs, Georges Ill.

67 x 66 cm. Circa 1 770. Ronald Phillips Ltd.

Acknowledgments

This research, and the thesis and this book that have emerged from it, could not have existed without the help of many people, to whom I would like to express my gratitude here.

To Professor Victor Stoichita, who kindly agreed to supervise the work of a researcher with a slightly unconventional profile, on a little-known subject.

To Danielle Elisseeff, who did me the honour of looking over my research, giving me comments and advice based on her extensive knowledge of China, serving on my thesis jury, and giving her kind attention to the writing of this work.

To Patrick Conner, director of the Martyn Gregory Gallery in London, who introduced me to eighteenth-century Canton and its pictures—which he knows so well—, and who expertly answered the numerous questions I put to him.

To Yves Jolidon, a researcher at Romont Vitrocentre and a specialist in reverse glass painting, who, along with all the team from this centre, directed by Stefan Trümpler, welcomed me (the beginner that I was) and helped to guide my first steps.

To Feng Jicai, a writer, and the founder and director of the Tianjin Popular Art Museum, who granted me an interview in 2007. It is to him that I owe my knowledge of the place occupied by mirrors in the Chinese imagination.

To Isabelle Landry-Déron, who invited me to give a talk on

the state of my research to the Research Centre on Modern

and Contemporary China at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) [School for Advanced Studies in

the Social Sciences], which enabled me to present my ideas

before some eminent Sinologists.

To John Finlay, who pointed me to several articles and documents in Chinese archives that were very relevant to my research.

To Jeannine Geyssant, who also gave me the benefit of her extensive knowledge of reverse glass painting.

In creating the corpus, I was led to contact many museums and collections, where my requests were always graciously received. My thanks go to the following curators:

In France: Brigitte Nicolas, director of the Musée de la Compagnie des Indes at Port-Louis, who allowed me to present my research as part of her museum's programme of lectures; Christine Germain-Donat and Sophie Boulan, of the Grobet-Labadié museum in Marseille; and Virginie Frelin- Cartigny of the Musée des Beaux-Arts at Valenciennes.

In the Netherlands: Jan van Campen, who was my guide to the Rijksmuseum reserves, and who agreed to share with me his extensive knowledge on Andreas van Braam; and Paul van Dongen, of the Leiden Volkenkunde museum.

In Sweden: Maria Maxen of the Nordiska Museet; Christian Thoren of the Gothenburg Stadsmuseum; Ritwa Herjulfsdotter of the Róhsska Museet; Eva Myrdal and Michel Lee of the Världskulturmuseerna; and Susanna Allesson-Nyberg of the Sjóhistorika Museet.

In Britain: David Moffat, who was my guide to the collections at the Lady Lever Gallery in Liverpool; Gemma Roberts and Catherine Peck, who provided me with valuable information about the Chinese reverse glass paintings at Shugborough Hall and Saltram House; and Jeff Pilkington, who was my guide to the archives at Christies auction house.

Jeanne Gauffins translations of Swedish articles were invaluable to me.

Finally, my thanks go to my wife, for what would this book have amounted to without her numerous corrections and unconditional support?

Thierry Audric ss Chinese reverse glass painting 1720-1820

Table of Contents

Introduction 8

Eighteenth-century Canton 15 The Pearl River 15 The cities of Canton 16

The discovery of Chinese painting by Westerners 18 The absence of perspective and shading 18