Friday, October 9, 2020

The East-West Fusion of Giuseppe Castiglione


Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) was a Jesuit monk who received art training in Italy and traveled to China at the invitation of the emperor. 

His adopted name in China was Láng Shìníng.  His portraits were mostly frontal, with frontal lighting. He avoided strong shadows or chiaroscuro in his portraiture because "the Qianlong Emperor thought that shadows looked like dirt, therefore when Castiglione painted the Emperor, the intensity of the light was reduced so that there was no shadow on the face, and the features were distinct." 


He is best known for florals, animals, and portraits, typically painted over a gold or linen background.

Quote via Wikipedia on Giuseppe Castiglione
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1 comment:

  1. AviPBNOctober 9, 2020 at 2:18 PM

    James Jean cites him as a large influence to his work. Big fan of both the artists work.

    ReplyDelete

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