Chinese school of Canton, XVIII century.

Chinese school of Canton, XVIII century.
"Domestic scenes in Canton".
Set of five oil paintings on canvas.
Provenance: private collection.
Presents some craquelure on the pictorial layer.
Measurements: 45 x 74 cm (each); 54 x 84 cm (frames).

In this cycle of oil paintings, women of high social status are represented, with their maids, living in traditional houses with rice paper lamps hanging from the ceiling and traditional painted ceilings adorning the walls. Idyllic gardens with ponds and exotic trees frame the domestic settings. They reflect the taste and customs of the elite of the time in the Canton region (present-day Guangzhou), which had become an important international trading center. Eighteenth-century Canton painting is a remarkable example of Chinese art of that era, especially as it takes place in a very unique commercial and cultural context. The silk costumes, wooden screens, children's games and servants carrying tea on trays held on their heads indicate the privileged position and refined taste of the Qing period. The stained glass doors, meanwhile, symbolize a point of connection between inside and outside, private and public. Paintings of flowers on walls are a traditional symbol of beauty, peace and longevity in Chinese culture, and in Qing-period art, flowers often had deeper symbolic meanings, related to femininity, virtue or the natural cycle of life. These representations reinforce the natural environment surrounding women at home and in the garden. The ladies, dressed in traditional clothing, are represented with Chinese fans or "pai-pai. The pai-pai also had a symbolic meaning in Chinese culture, associated with femininity and delicacy. The presence of children in these scenes is another element that emphasizes idealized family life and the importance of offspring, another fundamental value in Chinese culture.
These Canton paintings are interesting not only for their subject matter, but also for the technique used. Although oil painting is a technique of Western origin, its adoption in China responds to the cultural and commercial exchange that the Canton region maintained with Europe through the maritime silk route and the presence of European traders. These works merge the Western influence in terms of technique with the Chinese aesthetic and symbolic tradition. Stylistically, they are works of great quality, meticulous in their descriptive eagerness and careful in capturing the qualities and chromatic nuances.