Guiseppe Castiglione was a Jesuit painter who served as an artist at the imperial court of three Qing emperors – the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. He painted in a style that is a fusion of European and Chinese traditions.
In the painting 哨鹿圖 Shàolù-tú, Castiglione was responsible for painting the portraits of the emperor and other officials on horseback. The trees and landscape were painted by Tang Dai, in a Chinese style. The detail here shows the two lead riders.
The title translates literally as “illustration of the cry of the deer”, which refers to a hunt for deer where the cry of deer was imitated with horns to lure the deer. The translation “lead riders in hunt for deer” is actually a description of the detail shown.
