Imperial Illusions: Crossing Pictorial Boundaries in the Qing

Imperial Illusions: Crossing Pictorial Boundaries in the Qing Palaces (Art History Publication Initiative)

In the Forbidden City and other palaces around Beijing, Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795) surrounded himself with monumental paintings of architecture, gardens, people, and faraway places. The best artists of the imperial painting academy, including a number of European missionary painters, used Western perspectival illusionism to transform walls and ceilings with visually striking images that were also deeply meaningful to Qianlong. These unprecedented works not only offer new insights into late imperial Chinaâ€™s most influential emperor, but also reflect one way in which Chinese art integrated and domesticated foreign ideas.

In Imperial Illusions, Kristina Kleutghen examines all known surviving examples of the Qing court phenomenon of â€œscenic illusion paintingsâ€ (tongjinghua), which today remain inaccessible inside the Forbidden City. Produced at the height of early modern cultural exchange between China and Europe, these works have received little scholarly attention. Richly illustrated, Imperial Illusions offers the first comprehensive investigation of the aesthetic, cultural, perceptual, and political importance of these illusionistic paintings essential to Qianlongâ€™s world.
Country USA
Brand University of Washington Press
Manufacturer University of Washington Press
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber 9780295994109
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9780295994109
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	University of Washington Press
Manufacturer	University of Washington Press
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	9780295994109
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9780295994109
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Imperial Illusions: Crossing Pictorial Boundaries in the Qing Palaces (Art History Publication Initiative)

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