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CANTON
Oil on Canvas
China, 19th century
Larger then standard oil on canvas in original Sino-European carved frame showing the European factories (hongs) in Canton It is possible to date this painting with a degree of accuracy, as we know the church, shown in the right hand side of the composition, in front of the factories was build in 1847 and that the gardens depicted in the painting were destroyed in the 1856 fire. In the foreground are a variety of vessels showing the activity in the port. The central theme of the painting are the foreign factories, identified by their respective flags in front of the national buildings. From left to right are the United States, the French, the English and the Danish. Flags.
These paintings executed mainly by Chinese artists trained in the European tradition of oil painting (unknown in China up to the 19th century) were acquired or commissioned by foreign captains and merchants as a souvenir or document of these establishments in far-away and exotic lands. |
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