Corno 1796

William Alexander

€ 395

Inter-Antiquariaat Mefferdt & De Jonge

• A proposito di opere d'arte
  “View of the Tower of the Thundering Winds on the borders of Lake See-Hoo taken from the Vale of Tombs” Copper engraving by J. Landseer and J. Shirt after a drawing by William Alexander (1767-1816) from the “Authentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China; including cursory observations made, and information obtained, in travelling through that ancient empire” written by Sir George Leonard Staunton and published April 12, 1796 in London by G. Nicol. Coloured by a later hand. Size (image): 30,5 x 45,2 cm. The embassy was headed by Earl George Macartney (1737-1806), who was dispatched to Beijing in 1792. He was accompanied by Staunton a medical doctor as his secretary, and a retinue of suitably impressive size, including Staunton’s 11-year-old son who was nominally the ambassador’s page. On the embassy’s arrival in China it emerged that the 11-year-old was the only European member of the embassy able to speak Mandarin, and thus the only one able to converse with the Emperor. Lord Macartney's embassy was unsuccessful, the Chinese resisting British overtures to establish diplomatic relations in view of opening the vast Chinese realms to free trade, but it opened the way for future British missions, which would eventually lead to the first Opium War and the cession of Hong Kong to Britain in 1842. It also resulted in this invaluable account, prepared at government expense, largely from Lord Macartney's notes, by Staunton, of Chinese manners, customs and artifacts at the height of the Qing dynasty. The engravings are of special interest because of their depiction of subjects that very few Europeans had heard of or seen, showing how advanced Chinese civilisation was on a technical, artistic and organizational level. Staunton describes this particular scene as follows: “This lake (??, Xi Hú, or West Lake, Hangzhou province), on the borders of which stands the wealthy and extensive city of Hang-choo-foo, with the surrounding scenery, is accounted one of the grandest, as well as most beautiful, spots in all China. The Lui-fung-la or tower of the thundering winds, standing on the point of a promontory jetting into the lake, forms a bold object. It is said to have been built in the time of the philosopher Confucius, who lived three centuries before the Christian aera. In the Vale of Tombs the variety of monuments is almost infinite. Abundance of naked coffins lie scattered upon the ground; and the sides of the hills that rise from the vale are thickly set with groups of sarcophagi, in the shape of small houses arranged in such a manner as to look like so many Lilliputian villages.” Price: 395,-
• A proposito di opere artista

  William Alexander (1767–1816) fu l'unico artista inglese della fine del XVIII secolo ad addentrarsi nell'entroterra cinese, un viaggio che avrebbe segnato la sua carriera e consolidato la sua reputazione. Nato a Maidstone, nel Kent, figlio di un carrozziere, mostrò presto un talento artistico e studiò a Londra, probabilmente sotto la guida di Giulio Cesare Ibbetson, prima di entrare alla Royal Academy Schools.

  Nel 1792 Alexander si unì all'ambasciata britannica di Lord Macartney in Cina come disegnatore junior. Sebbene la missione diplomatica non riuscisse a stabilire relazioni commerciali durature con l'imperatore Qianlong, fornì ad Alexander uno straordinario materiale di prima mano. In un'epoca in cui le cineserie affascinavano l'Europa, i suoi acquerelli dettagliati di paesaggi, architettura e vita quotidiana cinesi ottennero ampi consensi. Molti furono incisi per il resoconto ufficiale dell'ambasciata e per pubblicazioni come "View of the Headlands, Islands, etc." (1798) e "A Voyage to Cochin China" di John Barrow (1806).

  Tornato in Inghilterra, Alexander perfezionò i suoi schizzi cinesi trasformandoli in opere da esposizione per la Royal Academy e lavorò nel vivace circolo di acquerellisti attorno al Dottor Monro, al fianco di artisti come Thomas Girtin. Nel 1802 divenne professore di disegno paesaggistico presso la Royal Military Academy di Great Marlow.

  Nel 1808 si dimise da questo incarico per diventare uno dei primi curatori del British Museum, ricoprendo il ruolo di Conservatore delle Stampe e dei Disegni e assistente bibliotecario. Lì iniziò a compilare il primo inventario di stampe e disegni del museo e illustrò importanti antichità della collezione Townley. Membro della Society of Antiquaries, Alexander si dedicò in seguito sempre più a paesaggi pittoreschi e studi di oggetti classici.

  Morì nel 1816 a Maidstone, all'età di quarantanove anni. Oggi, le sue opere sono conservate in importanti collezioni pubbliche, tra cui la British Library, la Tate e il Victoria and Albert Museum, e rimangono una preziosa testimonianza visiva della Cina di fine XVIII secolo vista attraverso gli occhi britannici.

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