Qing: individualists and imperial splendour

Manchu emperors collected and commissioned on an enormous scale, while eccentric painters such as Bada Shanren and Shitao went their own way.

The Manchus seized power in 1644 and founded the Qing dynasty, China's last. The Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors were great collectors and patrons, and the court workshops produced porcelain, enamel and jade of the highest technical standard.

Ming loyalists became monks or eccentrics. Bada Shanren painted fish and birds with angry, upturned eyes, and Shitao wrote that “I use my own method”. Their freedom inspired Chinese artists of the 20th century.

Trade with Europe grew. The Swedish East India Company brought porcelain, tea and silk from Canton, and porcelain was made to order with European coats of arms. The Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione painted at court, blending Chinese and European approaches.