Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts (1736–70s): Art, History and Details

Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts (1736–70s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Giuseppe Castiglione (Italian, 1688–1766); others (Chinese).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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).

Object facts

• Title: Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts
• Date: 1736–70s
• Creator attribution: Giuseppe Castiglione (Italian, 1688–1766); others (Chinese)
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Handscroll; ink and color on silk
• Dimensions: Overall: 53.8 x 1154.5 cm (21 3/16 x 454 1/2 in.); Painting only: 53 x 688.3 cm (20 7/8 x 271 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Handscroll
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1969.31

A detail from the museum

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.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• I° Collection de M. J. Poberejsky (Première Vente), Importante Suite de Pierres Dures de La Chine ..., II° Appartenant À Divers Amateurs, Céramique de La Chine, Laques de Pékin, Sculptures Cambodgiennes et Siamoises, Importants Brule-Parfums et Paravent En Émaux Cloisonnés ..., Belle Suite de Peintures Provenant Du Palais Impérial (XVIIIe Siècle) ... 17 and 18 December 1928 sale. Hôtel Drouot, Paris, France.
• Octagon III, No. 4 (Winter 1966). London: Spink & Son, pp. 12–13
• “Art of Asia Recently Acquired by American Museums, 1969.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 24, 1970, pp. 86–117.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.