Preface
Preface
Western paintings were first introduced to China through Macao by foreign missionaries, sparking a trend in Cantonese painting during the 18th and 19th centuries. The presence of Chinese and foreign officials, high society gentlemen and ladies, as well as merchants and sailors who lived in Macao fuelled demand for Western-style portraits, leading to the rise of commercial painting studios around the Canton port. These studios significantly influenced the style of modern Chinese portraiture and the illustrated commercial calendars of the early Republic of China period.
Meanwhile, a diverse range of artworks flourished in the Pearl River Delta, including Western landscape paintings, printmaking, traditional Chinese paintings on pith paper, and reverse glass paintings. These works explored a variety of themes, such as agricultural production, costumes and fashion, commercial trade, a diversity of professions, celebrations and entertainment. Prior to the introduction of photography in the East, these artworks played a crucial role in presenting Chinese society and culture to the West, serving as invaluable records of commercial and cultural exchanges between the East and the West in the late Qing dynasty.
Macao, as the earliest gateway for the introduction of Western paintings to the East and the birthplace of Chinese export paintings in the 18th century, is the perfect venue for hosting this timely exhibition that traces the origins and intricacies of this artistic heritage. This exhibition marks Macao’s most extensive showcase of historical and export paintings to date, featuring a selection of export paintings and works in the style of George Chinnery from the rich collections of the Macao Museum of Art (MAM) and the Guangdong Museum, as well as selected artworks from the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Across three major sections, over 300 exquisite items are displayed, exploring various painting styles, skills, and materials.
These works demonstrate how Chinese and foreign artists in the Pearl River Delta pioneered a golden age of China’s modern commercial art through the exchange and integration of both Chinese and Western art forms during the 18th and 19th centuries. The exhibition also highlights Macao’s pivotal role in nurturing Westernstyled Chinese painters and developing Chinnery’s artistic styles. Close to 50% of the exhibited works are from MAM’s collection, including recently compiled export paintings that have never been displayed before.
This exhibition offers an invaluable opportunity to view paintings that capture the everyday life and people of Macao, both as a thriving commercial port and a picturesque fishing village. These works also provide vivid insights into the interplay of Chinese and Western cultures, offering precious visual records of the 19th-century Canton.
The Focus exhibition prominently highlights on British painter George Chinnery, who spent 27 years of his life in Macao, where he is also buried. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Chinnery’s birth, the MAM has added exhibits from its collection of works by Chinnery and his students to this exhibition. As the most influential Western painter in 19th-century China, Chinnery arrived in Macao in 1825. He romanticised the traditional painting styles of the British Academy, adapting to the climatic and cultural conditions of the South China coast. This integration of styles exerted great influence on local Chinese artists in Guangdong, as well as Macanese painters and Western settlers in Macao.
The emergence of what is now known as ‘Chinnery’s painting style’ impressed both Chinese and Western patrons, inspiring Chinese artists to adopt new techniques. Painters who followed Chinnery mastered perspectives, composition, and the nuanced use of light and shadow, along with a blend of cold and warm colour palettes, and layered illustrations. The fusion of Chinese and Western art not only led to creative innovations but also produced works that appealed to Western and Chinese tastes alike. These paintings are artistic, decorative and historically documentary, possessing rich historical significance and academic value in terms of the cultural exchanges between Chinese and Western art traditions. They also played a crucial role in the localisation of oil painting in China.
This exhibition celebrates the painters from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao who, two centuries ago, adopted a pragmatic attitude of keeping pace with the times and embracing diversity with a creative and adventurous approach to visual art. Similarly, MAM remains committed to an open-minded spirit, dedicated to the collection, display, research and promotion of these historical works. Coinciding with the special occasion of the 25th anniversary of Macao’s reunification with China, this event aims to draw public attention to these extraordinary artistic and cultural achievements, highlight Macao’s significant role in the history of modern Chinese art, and reinforce the strong ties among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao as they continue to work and grow together.
As a member of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Alliance of Museums, the Cultural Affairs Bureau’s Macao Museum of Art is committed to better utilising and sharing resources related to unique cultural relics, thereby deepening the cooperation between cultural institutions in the Greater Bay Area. Through high-quality collaborative exhibitions, we aspire to usher in another golden age of culture and art in the Greater Bay Area.
Un Sio San
Director of the Macao Museum of Art