Top Masterpieces: 11. Qing Dynasty, Italian painter Lang Shining's "Hundred Horses" 11. 頂級名畫: 清代宮廷意大利畫家，郎世寧《百駿圖》
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"Hundred Horses" is a work created by Italian Qing Dynasty court painter Lang Shining. It is one of China's top ten famous paintings handed down from generation to generation. This manuscript is on paper, and the originals are collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA (paper version) and the National Palace Museum in Taipei, China (on silk).
This picture depicts a total of 100 horses in different postures, either standing, running, kneeling, or lying down. It can be said that the horses are in the best posture. There are several shepherds at the beginning and end of the picture, controlling the entire herd of horses, reflecting a harmonious relationship between humans and other creatures in nature.
This picture is a long scroll. From right to left, the picture begins with two towering old pine trees. Through the gaps between the pine branches, a simple white tent built by the herdsmen is revealed. There are three herdsmen wearing Manchu costumes in front of the tent. Two people Sitting or lying tiredly, there was another person standing there with his hands on the horse pole, looking at the horses not far away, and a shepherd dog stretched out half of its body from the tent.
Nearby is a white horse with a round body standing leisurely, and two pinto horses next to it are gnawing grass with their heads lowered, which leads to the group of horses in various poses behind. On the grass, a group of horses of different sizes were foraging, lying down, rolling and playing.
In the distance, there are continuous mountains and thick vegetation. A herdsman is roping a horse that has run away, while another herdsman is catching up eight or nine ponies that have run away. There are also several entangled branches in the close view. In the ancient pine trees, a large group of horses of different colors are standing or lying, holding their heads high or bowing their heads, and several horses are chasing each other.
In the middle of the picture, there is a group of horses resting among trees and rocks. Among them is a mother and her son. The mother is looking at the foal that is sucking milk. A horse next to it is scratching on an ancient pine, causing a shepherd to turn his head to watch. .
The scroll unfolds to the left to see a lake with lush reeds and horses playing by the water. There is a person in the lake scrubbing a flower horse, and the reflection in the lake is clearly visible.
After passing the narrow part of the water, the lake gradually opened up. The sandy beach of the lake was covered with reeds and weeds. There was also a small group of horses, led by a herdsman on horseback, swimming across the narrow water to the other side.
The picture ends with a shepherd holding a horse pole. In the lower left corner of the painting, there is a signature of the artist: "In the sixth year of Yongzheng reign, in the second spring of Wushen year, this painting was painted by the minister Lang Shining." There are many Qianlong seals on the painting.
Castiglione began painting "Hundred Horses" in 1724. Before coming to China, Castiglione systematically studied painting and laid a solid foundation for sketching. After arriving in China, he was exposed to traditional Chinese painting. The influence of Eastern and Western art provided him with good conditions for creating a novel painting style. So in terms of painting skills, Castiglione created a novel painting method that was different from traditional Chinese painting. Therefore, it was highly valued by the three emperors of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. Despite this, the foreign painter Lang Shining also had to abide by the Qing palace painting system of drawing a manuscript before painting and "painting according to the same pattern" after the emperor's approval. This is illustrated by the manuscript of Lang Shining's "Hundred Horses" preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. at this point. This painting was started in the second year of Yongzheng (1724), took four years, and was completed in the sixth year of Yongzheng (1728). Therefore, the signature on the painting should be the year when it was completed.
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