Cleveland Museum of Art

Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts

Giuseppe Castiglione

Date

1736–70s

Medium

Handscroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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 documentation and a "mind picture" of the Qianlong emperor, suggesting that his constructed image of emperorship was inseparable from concepts of self and family. It was stored in a carved red lacquer box bearing the original painting title Mind Picture of a Well-Governed and Tranquil Reign (see CMA 1969.32 ). 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.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.