Palaces of the Immortals

Palaces of the Immortals

Xu Yang  (Chinese, active ca. 1750–after 1776)

Period:

Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period (1736–95)

Date:

dated 1753

Culture:

China

Medium:

Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink, color, and gold on paper

Dimensions:

Image: 6 1/4 x 18 1/2 in. (16 x 47 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Purchase, The B. D. G. Leviton Foundation Gift, in honor of Marie-Hélène and Guy Weill, 2003

Accession Number:

2003.132

·         Xu Yang was recruited as a court painter in 1751 and became one of the Qianlong Emperor’s leading artists, culminating with his being selected in 1764 to execute the Qianlong Southern Inspection Tour. This intimate fan painting shows Xu working in a miniaturist style and a decorative blue-and-green technique that differs markedly from his typically grand imperial commissions. According to the artist’s long inscription, Xu was commanded by the emperor to paint this work as a birthday gift to a Mr. Li.

Fanciful images of Daoist paradises were suitably auspicious subjects for birthday gifts. Using the archaic blue-and-green landscape style, Xu demonstrates his mastery of this mode with dense mineral colors accented with gold highlights and detailed renderings of architectural forms.