Page 308 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

303 WT
ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL
Late 18th century
Oil on canvas, depicting a view of men
and women at leisure drinking tea, strolling
or engaged in conversation, all within in a
pleasure garden and pavilions divided by a
river with boats, on one of the boats a lady
cools her unbound feet in the water, attracting
the gaze of men from the far terrace opposite,
framed.
Overall 91cm (35 7/8in) high x 127cm (50in)
wide

£18,000 - 24,000
HK$200,000 - 260,000
CNY170,000 - 220,000

十八世紀末 外銷江南水鎮通景油畫

In the 18th century, Guangzhou (sometimes
known as Canton), was the only city in
China accessible to European and American
merchants. Although interaction between
Westerners and Chinese was, officially
speaking, limited to trade, a new and unique
artistic style emerged among Chinese artists
influenced by the West. Catering to the foreign
merchants’ tastes, Chinese artists depicted
scenes in oil paints of ships, factories, exotic
gardens and local life, employing single point
perspective. The paintings they produced
offer a fascinating glimpse into 18th century
Guangzhou as well as the cross-cultural
interactions between Western and Chinese
merchants and artists. For more on the Anglo-
Chinese School see M.Sullivan, The Meeting
of Eastern and Western Art, Berkeley, 1989;
P.Van Dyke and M.Mok, Images of the Canton
Factories 1760-1822: Reading History in Art,
Hong Kong, 2015, pp.43-56.

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