Worshiping the Ancestors: Chinese Commemorative Portraits

226 Pages·2001·26.15 MB·English

by  Jan Stuart

JAN STUART
EVELYN S. RAWSKI
CHINESE COMMEMORATIVE PORTRAITS
espitetheircompelling presence andoften exquisite
quality,Chinese ancestorportraitshave neverbeen
studiedas agenre.This richlyillustratedbookisthefirstto
explorein depth the artistic,historical,andreligious signi-
ficance oftheseremarkable paintings andtoplacethem in
context with othertypes ofcommemorative portraiture.
Sincethe sixteenth century,portraits were commis-
sionedin Chinain greatnumber andvariety. Depictions of
individuals rangefrom formal,iconicposestothevery
casual andofferfascinating glimpses ofChineselife and
culture.Theriveting,realisticancestorportraits—
—
supremelypowerful likenesses were important objects
ofveneration,andthepractice ofmaking memorial por-
traits continuedintothetwentieth century^when paint-
ings were graduallyreplacedbyphotographs.
Until recently,these often lavish,full-length portraits
ofseatedmen andwomen,which cameintovogue in the
late-Ming (1368-1644) andOing dynasties (1644-1911),lan-
guishedin relative obscurity,hidden from theviewofnon-
familymembers andlargelyignoredbyconnoisseurs of
Chinese art. Here,the authors explorethe works in depth,
present afascinating studyofthe Oing imperial court,pro-
videbiographies ofsittersfrom the militaryandsocial
elite,anddiscussthemagnificentfurniture andcostumes
thatoften surroundthe subjects.They also considerthe '
impact ofphotography.
Thebookfocuses on the superb collection ofMing
andOing portraitsin theArthur M.SacklerGalleryofthe
Smithsonian Institution,Washington, D.C.,with works
•T!

I
WORSHIPING THE ANCESTORS

JAN STUART
'Src^
EVELYN RAWSKI
S.
Worshiping the Ancestors
CHINESE COMMEMORATIVE PORTRAITS
Publishedby the Freer Gallery ofArt
and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution,Washington, D.C.,
in association with Stanford University Press,
Stanford, California
Copyright®2001 Smithsonian Institution HeadofPublications:Karen Sagstetter The BoardoftheFreerandSacklerGalleries
All rightsreserved. Editor:Bruce ElliotTapper Mrs.NancyFessenden,chair
Designer:Carol Beehler Mr.RichardM.Danziger,vicechair
Publishedbythe FreerGalleryofArtandthe TypesetinTheMix,by Dr.Siddharth K.Bhansali
ArthurM.SacklerGallery,Smithsonian Genera]Typographers,Inc., Mrs.MaryEbrahimi
Institution,Washington,D.C.,in associationwith Washington,D.C. Mr.George Fan
StanfordUniversityPress,Stanford, PrintedbyBalding+Mansell,Ltd., Dr.RobertFeinberg
California,ontheoccasionofan exhibition Norfolk,England Dr.KurtGitter
heldattheArthurM.SacklerGallery, Mrs.KatharineGraham
June17-September9,2001. Cover:detail,fig.4.3 Mrs.RichardHelms
Frontispiece:detail,fig.3.13 SirJoseph E.Hotung
Thepublicationofthisbookissupportedbya Mrs.Ann Kinney
majorgrantfromtheE.RhodesandLeonaB. LibraryofCongress Mr.H.ChristopherLuce
CarpenterFoundation.Theexhibition Worshiping Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mrs.Jill HornorMa
theAncestors:ChineseCommemorativePortraitsis Stuart,Jan,1955- Mr.Paul Marks
madepossiblebythegeneroussupportofFidelity Worshipingtheancestors:Chinesecommemora- Ms.Elizabeth Meyer
Investmentsthroughthe FidelityFoundation. tiveportraits/Jan Stuart,Evelyn 5.Rawski. Mrs.Daniel P.Moynihan
Additionalfunding isprovidedbythe p. cm. Mr.Frank H.Pearl
ElseSacklerPublicAffairsEndowmentofthe Includesbibliographical referencesandindex. Dr.Martin Powers
ArthurM.SacklerGallery,theSmithsonian ISBN0-8047-4262-5 (hardcover:alk.paper) Dr.GursharanSidbu
Institution'sCollections-BasedResearch Program, ISBN0-8047-4263-4(softcover:alk.paper) Mr.Michael Sonnenreich
andShirleyZ.Johnson. 1.Portraitpainting,Chinese—Exhibitions. Mr.AbolalaSoudavar
—
2.Painting,Chinese Ming-Oingdynasties, Prof.ElizabethtenGrotenhuis
— —
1368-1912 Exhibitions.3.Painting Washington, Mr.Paul F.Walter
—
(D.C.) Exhibitions.4.ArthurM.SacklerGallery Ms.ShelbyWhite
—
(Smithsonian Institution) Exhibitions.I.Rawski,
Evelyn Sakakida.II.FreerGalleryofArt.III.Arthur
M.SacklerGallery (Smithsonian Institution)
IV.Title.
ND1326.5782001
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7570951074753 dc2i 2001023020
Smithsonian
FreerGalleryojArtiind
ArthurM. SacklerGallery