A Late 18th Century Chinese Export Gouache Landscape

A fine late eighteenth century gouache landscape painting depicting a wealthy merchant and his daughter buying fans from a travelling tradeswoman, shown at their home amid an imaginary landscape of lakes and mountains. Now set in a water gilded frame.

Pictures such as these were commissioned for export to Europe at a time when Oriental art captured the imaginations of all Westerners. Paintings such as these show an idealised notion of Chinese life and typically capture people at work and play. The technique is stylised yet sophisticated and the colours are vibrant. These paintings also provide an interesting account of Chinese domestic architecture at the end of the eighteenth century.