Page 65 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

An examination of paintings associated with Cixi indicates a close connection

between the imagery found painted on porcelain and that painted on scrolls. Examples of

Cixi’s paintings from the Bowers Museum exhibition Empress Dowager Cixi: Selections

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from the Summer Palace showcase the empress dowager’s skill with a brush (Figure 7).

One work entitled Peonies, centers a floral composition along the bottom of a hanging

scroll. The three peonies are each depicted in washes of white, yellow, and pink. The

peony itself is symbolic as the king of flowers, while the colors chosen for each blossom

can also be interpreted to hold meaning. The white peony represents purity, the yellow a

representation of the imperial Chinese color and the pink a clear connection to the

emergence of the western color palette during the Qing era. The light application of color

creates the faintest suggestion of petals, that would be virtually invisible without intimate

assessment due to the boneless painting style that eliminates bold outlining. Close

examination of this work in person allowed the delicate details embedded by Cixi to

become visible. The work reveals a delicate and soft touch, which is an element evident

in the majority of Cixi’s art. It is clear from Peonies that Cixi, while inspired by

traditional Chinese painting, also embraced new ideas. Individuals who witnessed the

empress dowager painting expressed her competence in the tradition, stating, “Her

Majesty’s touch is [also] very apparent in her painting, for she is very artistic, and paints

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flowers in a charming way; in fact, she is remarkably clever with her fingers.” The

close connection that Cixi maintained between the media of painting and porcelain

indicates that the two were tightly linked under her patronage and therefore cannot be

50 “Empress Dowager Cixi: Selections from the Summer Palace,” exhibition November 12, 2017-
March 11, 2018, Bower’s Museum, Santa Ana, California.
51 Carl, With the Empress Dowager of China, 136.

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