Imperial Chinese Court Art and Portraiture - Emperors, Ancestors and Jesuits
Lecture on Monday 1st September 2025 at 2:15PM
Lecturer: David Rosier
Venue: Larruperz Centre
This lecture explores the origins and evolution of the nature and function of paintings created under an Emperor's patronage by artists of the Imperial School of Art.
Court art evolved separately from classical Chinese paintings and included portraiture plus scenes of court life and significant State Events. These were used as visual evidence of the political power of the Emperor and the splendour of his court.
The lecture concludes by considering the revolution in court art that occurred in the 18th century as Emperor Qianlong deployed Western artistic skills and techniques brought by Jesuits invited to the Forbidden City.
David was a Chartered Insurer by profession and a Fellow of the Assurance Medical Society, with extensive international experience as an author and lecturer in Medical Risk Assessment. David has in excess of 30 years of working and living in East Asia. Whilst living in Hong Kong (1991-2004) he, and his wife Wendy, assembled a collection of approximately 500, predominately Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Imperial Court Costume and related textiles/dress accessories. In late 2019 the Collection of Imperial Court Costume was acquired, in its entirety, by The Shanghai Museum, Peoples' Republic of China, to be displayed in a new annexe of the museum which will opened in 2025. A Past Committee Member of the Hong Kong Textile Society and regular contributor to a range of Oriental Art publications. David is an expert lecturer on Chinese Imperial Court Costume, plus all aspects of Imperial Court life, art and culture together with studies of China's greatest Emperors and Empresses. David has lectured for The Arts Society, and a wide range of other organisations, around the UK and within Europe. In addition he has carried out 4 lecture trips to Australia, plus New Zealand and SE Asia. He has organised and lead Imperial Art Tours to China for a wide variety of organisations.