Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts

The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts as painting (China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95) · 1736–70s).

WHY IT’S INTERESTING

Lingfei 令妃 (1727–1775), the first consort depicted in the maroon or “incense-colored" 香色 robe, was the mother of six of Qianlong’s children, including the future Emperor Jiaqing.

SERENDIPITYA little unexpected

FamiliarWeird

A CLOSER LOOK

The museum identifies this painting as Handscroll; ink and color on silk and credits Giuseppe Castiglione (Italian, 1688–1766).

The museum's collection notes: This portrait shows the Qianlong emperor at 26, in the first year of his reign. His likeness is followed by portraits of the empress and eleven consorts. Their portraits document the appearances of the court women around the time when they received their respective imperial titles, which occurred at different stages of the emperor's life. The first three portraits were done by the Jesuit (Roman Catholic) missionary artist Giuseppe Castiglione, whereas the later ones were by Chinese court painters. Formal portraiture contributed to the affirmation of status and construction of role and identity. This scroll served as both familial documentatio

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The Cleveland Museum of ArtPortraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts

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