This was followed by a commission placed with France, the final objective being the execution of sixteen large-format prints (89.5 × 51.5 cm), produced in the context of a diplomatic rapprochement between Louis XV and the court of Beijing.

The project began in 1762, became effective in 1766, and was completed in 1775, under Louis XVI, with the delivery of the engravings to China.

This suite, extremely rare in the West, was printed in 200 copies between 1767 and 1774, all of which were shipped to China.

Jesuit artists at the Qianlong Imperial Court

In the late 17th century, a number of European Jesuit painters served at the Qing court of the Kangxi Emperor, who was interested in employing European Jesuits trained in various fields, including painting. In the early 18th century, the Jesuits in China requested that a painter be sent to the imperial court in Beijing. Giuseppe Castiglione, a Jesuit lay brother of Milanese origin, was identified as a promising candidate and accepted the post.

In August 1715, Castiglione arrived in Macau and reached Beijing later that year. He resided at a Jesuit church known as St Joseph’s Mission, or Eastern Hall (Dong Tang). He was presented to the Kangxi Emperor and initially assigned to work as an artisan in the palace enamelling workshop. While in China, Castiglione adopted the name Lang Shining (郞世寧) and adapted his European painting style to Chinese subjects and aesthetic preferences.

Castiglione’s artistic skill was highly valued by the Qianlong Emperor, whom he served for three decades, receiving increasingly high official rank within the Qing court. He spent many years painting at court, producing portraits of the emperor and empress, tribute horses presented to the emperor, and numerous other subjects.

The Qianlong Emperor and his cultural role

Like his predecessors, the Qianlong Emperor took his cultural role seriously. A promoter of Manchu heritage, he ordered the compilation of Manchu genealogies, histories, and ritual manuals. He was also an extraordinarily prolific poet and essayist, with his collected works comprising over 40,000 poems and 1,300 prose texts.

The emperor’s vast art collection formed an intimate part of his life: he carried landscape paintings with him during his travels in order to compare them with real landscapes. Through the Jesuits at court, he was also exposed to Western art.

FIRST EDITION.

16 COPPER-ENGRAVED PLATES (each with plate mark approx. 610 × 930 mm).

Complete sets are extremely rare. Known institutional copies are held at the Bibliothèque Mazarine, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Musée Guimet.