Given its size, this watercolor might have served as part of a picture album, possibly one intended for the export market that would gratify curiosity in the West about the likeness and customs of the Chinese people. Dressed in simple clothes and shoes and carrying a tray of snacks and a tea kettle, the woman depicted is most likely a servant. Following her is a boy with a cane basket full of fruits on his shoulder. His shoulder pole, a flowering twig, adds a hint of playfulness.

Although very little is known about its subject, artist, or provenance, this watercolor demonstrates a mélange of Chinese and European styles that helps fix its date of creation in the 19^th century.

The woman’s oval face, willow-leaf shaped eyebrows, and cherry lips are typical attributes of women in Chinese illustrations of the period. The boy’s shaved head with three patches of hair is a common hairstyle in depictions of young boys. The plants in the background, too, are rendered in the style of traditional Chinese ink paintings, which offer symbolic depictions of flora rather than realistic ones. Much of the background is left blank, with the idea of a garden suggested by the tree, the fences, and the bushes hidden behind the figures. Gestural brushstrokes approximate grass tufts to suggest a lawn, and a single touch of the ink brush gives the hue and shape of leaves and flower petals.

Although this work of art is rooted in the Chinese painting tradition, the gradations of color apparent in the clothes of the two figures demonstrate the artist’s movement beyond the repertoire of traditional Chinese painting. A lighter tonality in the middle and a darker one around the contours and draperies give the figures a sense of volume, and this type of approach to modeling of form probably signifies a Western influence.

In fact, the medium of watercolor was brought to China by foreign missionaries, notably Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), an Italian Jesuit lay brother who worked for the Imperial Court during the Qing Dynasty. Not only did he become one of the Emperor’s favorite painters, but he also helped familiarize Chinese artists with European techniques such as linear perspective and modeling. Artisans who assisted Castiglione with large paintings and prints might have brought these novel techniques outside of the imperial palaces to local studios and workshops. This particular watercolor could well be the product of such exchange between East and West.

Ningyi Xi ‘17

Curatorial Summer Intern, Davis Museum, 2015