The Surface and the Line

General Guan Yu from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The art of reverse-glass painting came to China from Europe in the seventeenth century, likely through Jesuit missionaries. The required materials were all imported, namely the refined plate glass that was used as the support and the oil-based paints, which represented a sharp departure from the locally dominant ink-based pigments that Chinese artists conventionally used. Even so, this art form took on a new life in Chinese studios and quickly outgrew its European origins. Eventually, European merchants and travelers in China sought to purchase reverse-glass paintings in the workshops of the port of Canton. They became highly desirable export items, often using western prints as models. Because the image was rendered on the back of the glass, the painting process was necessarily reversed. The artist started by applying the minor highlights and small details upon the plane, concluding with the large areas of background color. Upon completion, the paintings were protected by a thick layer of glass, which enhanced their illusionistic elements and visually amplified the sense of depth. These two reverse glass paintings represent scenes from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a popular work of literature that dramatized China’s early dynastic history. The hero is general Guan Yu (关羽), who was idealized as a paragon of morality and loyalty in Chinese art and literature.

For more information about the port of Canton and its painting workshops, check out this illustrated article, published by Peter Purdue and available via MIT's Visualizing Cultures project.

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