Strangers at Court: Depictions of Europeans in Chinese Imperial Art
A Bonhams Gallery Conversation with the Friends of RAMM
In this global age, ‘Strangers at Court’ is a timely reminder of the influence of Europeans in China three hundred years ago. Opening with a distinctive portrait of Emperor Yongzheng posing in European clothes, Chinese ceramic and art expert Lazarus Halstead (Head of Chinese and Asian Art, Bonhams London) goes on to explore how Europeans were depicted and understood in the Chinese Imperial court during the eighteenth century.
Europeans and European art influenced and inspired the creative responses of Chinese artists, shedding an interesting light on the attitudes and values of the Emperor and his subjects.
Artworks created and enjoyed in the Imperial court are some of the most enduring masterpieces of Chinese art in the contemporary imagination. Lazarus also reassesses the West’s traditionally Eurocentric vision of art examples from the Imperial collection.
