Early life

Castiglione was born in Milan's San Marcellino district on 19 July 1688. He was educated at home with a private tutor, then a common practice among wealthy families. He also learned to paint under the guidance of a master. In 1707, he entered the Society of Jesus in Genoa aged 19. Although a Jesuit, he was never ordained as a priest, instead joining as a lay brother.

Works

Paintings

In the late 17th century, a number of European Jesuit painters served in the Qing court of the Kangxi Emperor who was interested in employing European Jesuits trained in various fields, including painting. In the early 18th century, Jesuits in China made a request for a painter to be sent to the imperial court in Beijing. Castiglione was identified as a promising candidate and he accepted the post. In 1710, on the way to Lisbon, he passed through Coimbra where he stayed for several years to decorate the chapel of St. Francis Borgia in the Church of the novitiate, today the New Cathedral of Coimbra. He painted several panels in the chapel and a Circumcision of Jesus for the main altar of the same church.

In August 1715, Castiglione arrived in Macau, China, and reached Beijing later in the year. He stayed at a Jesuit church called St Joseph Mission or Eastern Hall (Dong Tang) in Chinese. He was presented to the Kangxi Emperor who viewed his painting of a dog, another source said a bird was also painted on the spot on Kangxi's request. He was assigned a few disciples, but was placed to work as an artisan in the palace enameling workshop.

While in China, Castiglione took the name Lang Shining (郞世寧). Castiglione adapted his Western painting style to Chinese themes and taste. His earliest surviving painting created in such style was from the first year of Yongzheng's reign in 1723. He was permitted to leave the enamel workshop by Yongzheng as it was affecting his eyesight. Although Castaglione was favored by Yongzheng who commissioned a number of works by him, Yongzheng's reign was a difficult period for the Jesuits as Christianity was suppressed and those missionaries not working for the emperor were expelled.

His skill as an artist was appreciated by the Qianlong Emperor, and Castiglione served the Emperor for three decades and was granted increasingly higher official rank within the Qing court. He spent many years in the court painting various subjects, including the portraits of the emperor and empress. Qianlong showed particularly interest in paintings of tribute horses presented to Emperor on which Castiglione painted a series.

In 1765, Castiglione and other Jesuit painters also created a series of "Battle Copper Prints" commissioned by the Emperor to commemorate his military campaigns. Small-scale copies of his paintings were shipped to Paris and rendered into engravings with etching before being returned to China. This series of sixteen prints by Castiglione (who contributed two) and his contemporaries Jean-Denis Attiret, Ignatius Sichelbart and Jean-Damascène Sallusti were created in this way.

Castiglione died in Beijing in 17 July 1766. An obituary was personally penned by Qianlong, who also erected a special stone in Castiglione's memory. He was buried in the Jesuits' Zhalan Cemetery in Beijing.

Architecture

In addition to his skill as a painter, he was also in charge of designing the Western-Style Palaces in the imperial gardens of the Old Summer Palace with assistance from other Jesuits such as Jean-Denis Attiret. The project was initiated by Qianlong in 1747 in a garden once used by Yongzheng, with the construction of European styled palaces and gardens, aviaries, a maze, and perspective paintings organized as an outdoor theatrical stage, as well as fountains and waterworks designed by Michel Benoist. Castiglione also created trompe-l'œil paintings on the walls of the palaces. The buildings, however, were destroyed in 1860 during the Second Opium War. Castiglione's architectural works were lost, although influences of his trompe-l'œil murals survive in paintings on walls and ceilings which were executed by his assistant in Juanqinzhai in Qianlong Garden in the Forbidden City.

Style and techniques

Castiglione's style of painting is a unique blend of European and Chinese compositional sensibility, technique and themes. He adjusted the Western style he was trained in to suit Chinese taste; for example, strong shadows used in chiaroscuro techniques were unacceptable in portraiture as the Qianlong Emperor thought that shadows looked like dirt, therefore when Castiglione painted the Emperor, the intensity of the light was reduced so that there was no shadow on the face, and the features were distinct. Emperors also preferred to have their portraits painted full face with a frontal posture, the royal portraits are therefore usually painted in such a manner.

The paintings were done on silk, and unlike Western painting where mistakes can be reworked, brushwork on silk is almost impossible to be removed, therefore requires careful and precise painting. The painting needed to be worked out in detail beforehand, which Castiglione did in a preparatory drawing on paper before he traced the design onto silk. An example is the most important early work by Castiglione, One Hundred Horses in a Landscape (百駿圖), for which the preparatory drawings survive. It was painted in 1728 for the Yongzheng emperor. Some of the horses are in a 'flying gallop' pose, which had not been done before by European painters. The painting was executed using tempera on silk in the form of a Chinese handscroll of nearly eight meters in length. It was largely done in a European-style in accordance with the rules of perspective, and with a consistent light source. However, the dramatic chiaroscuro shading typical of Baroque paintings is reduced and there are only traces of shadow under the hooves of the horses.

Castiglione was assisted in many of his paintings by a number of court painters. For example, in the painting Deer Hunting Patrol (哨鹿圖, Shaolutu), he would be responsible for painting the portraits of the emperor and other officials on horseback. Other members of the hunting party, the trees and landscape however would be painted by other court painters in a Chinese style that is distinctly different from Castiglione's.

Legacy

Due to Castiglione's work Qing court paintings began to show a clear Western influence. Other European painters followed and a new school of painting was created that combined Chinese and Western methods. The influence of Western art on the Qing court paintings is particularly evident in the light, shade, perspective, as well as the priority given to recording contemporary events.

In 2005, Castiglione became the subject of the television series Palace Artist in China, played by Canadian-Chinese actor Dashan (Mark Rowswell), and broadcast by China Central Television (CCTV).. He is briefly portrayed at the end of the 48th episode of Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, painting the emperor and the empress together in one of the few happy episode of the TV series.

Gallery

File:Qianlong1.jpg|The Qianlong Emperor

File:清 郎世宁绘《清高宗乾隆帝朝服像》.jpg|Another image of Qianlong Emperor

File:Qianlong emperor hunting.jpg|The Qianlong Emperor chasing a deer on a hunting trip

File:The Pine, Hawk and Glossy Ganoderma.jpg|The Pine, Hawk and Glossy Ganoderma, painted in honour of Yongzheng's birthday, 1724

File:Qianlong collecting lingzhi.jpg|Qianlong collecting lingzhi

File:Ten Prized Dogs 04.jpg|One of a series in Ten Prized Dogs

File:Horse Chaoni'er.jpg|One of Giuseppe Castiglione's Afghan Four Steeds, features a horse named Chaoercong (超洱骢, literally Exceeding Piebald).

File:Ayusi Assailing The Rebels with a Lance.jpg|Ayusi assailing the rebels with a lance

File:Followers in the Vase.jpg|Flowers in the Vase

生平

1688年7月19日，郎世寧出生於義大利米蘭的（該教堂位于米蘭布雷拉區，現已不存），本名為朱塞佩·卡斯蒂廖內（Giuseppe Castiglione）。郎世寧自幼受到良好的藝術文化氛圍的薰陶，青年時期隨卡洛科納拉學習繪畫與建築，年輕時進入一個米蘭著名畫家的畫室。郎世寧的父母了解他對於繪畫的喜愛，所以他們幫助他進入畫室。文獻是說當時五六歲的郎世寧既進入著名畫家的畫室，但文獻卻不說畫師是誰。我們猜測是Filippo Abbiati或是卡洛科納拉，當時最有名的畫家之一，那位畫師收到來自米蘭的聖堂以及貴族宮殿的最重要委託。六歲的郎世寧在畫室開始打工，磨顏色，摹仿老師的畫，還複製在米蘭收集成的畫。

1707年（19歲），郎世寧加入了熱那亞耶穌會，剛開始只為義大利的教堂畫壁畫，1714年，他居往在葡萄牙里斯本及科英布拉。郎世寧逐漸對中國產生了相當大的興趣。

1715年（康熙五十四年），郎世寧前往中國。他先在澳門學習中文、並以「郎世寧」作為漢名。之後，郎世寧被康熙帝以藝術家的身份召進宮中，他成為宮廷畫家後，每天都在畫室作畫。但來自康熙的委任工作大部分都丟了，只有很少數的還在，我們不太知道當時郎世寧畫了什麼。此外，他繼續學習漢文和滿文。

1722年（康熙六十一年），康熙帝在北京暢春園駕崩。雍正帝即位後，施行禁教政策，下令驅逐在中國境內的傳教士，不過只有在宮廷服務的傳教士例外，因此他不僅沒有受到驅逐，反而受到更高的禮遇，因為他擁有生動現實的繪畫風格，受到雍正帝的青睞。這一段時期，他創作了《聚瑞圖》、《嵩獻英芝圖》、《八駿圖》等作品，展示歐洲明暗畫法的風格，使歐洲油畫技藝在宮廷內盛極一時。雍正帝下令擴建圓明園，他參與圓明園的規劃設計，負責繪製園林建設的藍圖，也畫出不少裝飾殿堂的作品。雍正時，郎世寧完成一幅最重要委任畫作之一，「百駿圖」的手卷，郎世寧從劇場畫法的透視感，呈現出百駿圖的風光。擺在桌上的手卷裡，可以看見風景和百匹馬，那些全是皇帝的馬。在百駿圖中，第一幅見證畫，郎世寧馬上讓大家看自己的獨創性。他的獨創是聯合義式方法與中國的美學。這是一個具有不同重點的透視感，而不是一個線性的透視。郎世寧的方法，是用交點透視（linear perspective），或稱直線透視法，讓透視視覺跟中華畫空間的方式結合。所以，一幅畫裡也有很多案例，有的部份遵照透視的規定，也有別的部份遵照等角投影（axonometric isometric projection），中國畫家用的，或在別處遵照空氣透視（atmospheric perspective），用水墨，液體的顏料。例如用在畫像和顏色的對照。

1735年（雍正十三年），雍正帝駕崩。乾隆帝繼位後，由於乾隆帝雅好藝術，郎世寧更加受到重用。他曾多次陪同乾隆帝出巡，出席各種重大場合，創作一批極具歷史價值的藝術珍品，代表作如《乾隆大閱圖》。他繼續擔任圓明園西洋樓的建築設計，還曾一度擔任掌管皇家園林工作的奉宸苑苑卿一職，官居正三品。

1758年（乾隆二十三年），乾隆帝曾為郎世寧舉辦七十歲大壽，證明他在宮中頗受禮遇及恩寵。晚年亦為乾隆帝及其妃留下不少的肖像。

1766年（乾隆三十一年），郎世寧去世，享年78歲，再追封侍郎銜。葬於滕公柵欄。

在他之後的西洋傳教士畫家有王致誠、艾啟蒙（Ignaz Sichelbarth）、賀清泰、潘廷章等。

郎世寧的畫作在現今中國畫拍賣市場中是相當高價的作品，2000年他的《蘋野秋鳴》賣出價是1765.5萬港幣，是當時第二高價賣出的中國畫，2005年5月，他的《秋林群鹿》更是拍賣出的價格達到2149.68萬人民幣。

傳教

郎世寧雖然最初以傳教士的身份來中國，但自雍正帝禁教以來，他並沒有因此被逐出紫禁城，反而極受禮遇，有很大一部分的原因是，他在清朝宮中擁有宮廷畫師的職位，儘管他本人始終不曾忘記傳教的想法，然而在禁教政策之下，凡是有任何企圖傳教的舉止，都會被禁止，使得他終生未能實現傳教的願望，因此在中國，多稱他為宮廷畫家，而少稱他為傳教士。

評價

郎世寧在一生大半待在中國，歷代康熙、雍正、乾隆三朝，計約有50餘年。他不僅為後世留下大量珍貴的畫作，而且對中西文化交流有一定程度的貢獻。他的宮廷畫作品融合中西繪畫藝術，不但表現出西方繪畫中的寫實、立體、注重線條和結構等特點，也表現出中國傳統繪畫的傳神與韻味，在數十年的探索中，致力於融合中西方繪畫技法於一體，創作出獨特的畫風，儘管擁有一定的藝術價值，然而他的繪畫作品較為重視技巧而非藝術的探索，因此不論在中國和西方均未被視為偉大的作品。另外他參與圓明園的規劃設計，其內部的建築、環境和式樣採用了西方藝術巴洛克式風格，而裝飾細節上則有具有東方中國的藝術神韻。他引進西方文藝復興時期開創的明暗寫實畫法，並改用膠狀顏料在宣紙上作畫，也就是今日的膠彩畫作法。他曾試圖要求康熙帝開辦學習用西方透視原理來繪畫的繪畫學校，但不被採用，後來與中國學者年希堯一起出版了一本《視學》，是中國第一部西洋透視學專著。

代表作品

郎世寧的代表作品有《八駿圖》、《聚瑞圖》、《嵩獻英芝圖》、《乾隆大閱圖》、《百駿圖》、《弘曆及后妃像》、《平定西域戰圖》、《十駿犬圖》、西洋樓等。後世藝評家認為他畫馬最為傳神。

File:Eight Steeds.jpg|八駿圖

File:Xian'e Changchun Album 01.jpg|牡丹圖仙萼長春冊

File:Flowers in a Vase.jpg|瓶花

File:Beauties Collection, Giuseppe Castiglione.jpg|聚瑞圖

File:Everlasting Spring and Long Life.jpg|萬壽長春圖

File:Aquatic Plants and Fish.jpg|魚藻

File:Hundreds of butterflies.jpg|百蝶圖

File:A Colorful Spring.jpg|錦春圖

File:Cranes under Shadow of Flowers.jpg|花陰雙鶴圖

File:Peacock Spreads Its Tail.jpg|孔雀開屏圖

File:White Falcon by Giuseppe Castiglione.jpg|白鷹

File:White Falcon.jpg|白鶻圖

File:White Ape.jpg|白猿圖

File:Dog Under Flowers.jpg|花底仙尨圖

File:Ten Prized Dogs 10.jpg|雪爪盧十駿犬圖之一

File:Auspicious Roe Deer.jpg|瑞麅

File:Horse Hongyuzuo.jpg|紅玉座八駿圖之一

File:The Qianlong Emperor in Ceremonial Armour on Horseback.jpg|乾隆大閱圖

File:Qianlong emperor hunting.jpg|威弧獲鹿圖

File:Spring』s Peaceful Message.jpg|平安春信圖

File:Qianlong collecting lingzhi.jpg|採芝圖

File:清 郎世寧繪《清高宗乾隆帝朝服像》.jpg|乾隆帝朝服像

File:Consort ChunHui.JPG|純惠皇貴妃朝服像

File:塞宴四事圖（清）.jpg|塞宴四事圖

File:Langshiming mao.JPG|阿玉錫持矛盪寇圖

北京圓明園的十二獸首

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