Page 9 - A Time and A Place Catalogue, Jorge Welsh

By focusing on this very specific group of scenes that we tentatively call
‘views and perspectives’, we also help to highlight one particular aspect
often overlooked, which is how highly skilled and talented the Chinese painters
working in Jingdezhen and Canton during the 18th century were. To paint, at that
time, such intricate subject matter, of places they had never seen and that were
so foreign to their personal experience, to such high quality, is really quite ex­
traordinary. It is for this reason, notwithstanding the important documental
and cultural relevance of these pieces, that the catalogue illustrations centre on
the scenes themselves rather than the pieces, at times zooming in on particular
details. It is quite astonishing, when studying these enlarged images of such
small areas of decoration, the achievement of the Chinese artists as far as
the attention to detail, expressiveness and quality of the painting.
Of course the collection we have put together for this exhibition and catalogue
only partly illustrates what we feel is a fascinating group of pieces representing
‘Times’ and ‘Places’. There would be much more to discuss given further time.
We will continue our research on this subject and hope to keep publishing new
information and, who knows, further discoveries of original sources to those
scenes that remain unidentified.
Luísa Vinhais
Jorge Welsh

013