Haunting portraits of lost and bygone era in China entrance visitors in Berlin
A sumptuous new exhibition in Germany — showing rare portraits of members of the imperial court, military figures, artists and others from two great Chinese dynasties — is capturing the imaginations of visitors.
Billed by the organizers as Europe’s first-ever grand exhibition dedicated to Chinese portrait paintings, the show has been running in Berlin since Oct 11.
The exhibition — “Faces of China, Portrait Painting of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911)” — is being held to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Germany and China.
The exhibition, which will run until Jan 7, selected 70 paintings as well as 12 embroidery works from the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City.
Overall, the exhibition features more than 100 paintings from the collections of the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Royal Ontario Museum Toronto, most of which have never been shown in Europe.
Organizers say the event is being held to help European visitors explore the distinctive differences between portraiture from the two cultures — and to appreciate China and the West’s centuries-old tradition in painting portraits.
The Chinese paintings focus on chuanshen, xiezhen, namely expressing the spirit and displaying the truth.
According to the organizers, portrait painting hit its peak in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The art was not just appreciated by the imperial family, but its allure by then also extended to the nobles and merchants.
The numbers of portrait painters in China peaked during the two dynasties.
Scholars say the portraits of the emperors and empresses are devoted to truth and personality. They say the top works from the Ming dynasty are committed to aesthetics and technique.
The show not only displays intimate portraits of the emperor’s family, but also renowned authors and artists.
The garments of Qing Dynasty empress Xiaozhuang (1613-1688), as well as her portraits with the garments, which are rarely exhibited together, are featured in the show.
The Palace Museum and five leading German museums are sponsoring the event.