Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) was an Italian artist and lay Jesuit brother who spent most of his life in the Qing court of the Chinese Emperor as official principal court painter under the name Lang Shining. Castiglione forged a new style, adapting the taste and tradition of Chinese style painting and combining its elements with his Western training in art. Among his most beautiful works is an album that is considered a masterpiece of the Yongzheng period: Immortal Blossoms In An Everlasting Spring (Xian’e Changchun) – 16 leaves of traditional flower-and-bird silk paintings created in his merged style between 1723-35.
Chrysanthemums