A Beggar
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
A Beggar is a 1790 paint by Puqua, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a beggar singing and playing castanets. The beggar is dressed in tattered clothes, and his expression is sad. He's one of many people in a series of paintings about different jobs in Canton, made for Europeans who wanted to learn about China. You can learn more about this style by looking at the work of the movement: Romanticism.
The rectangular watercolor depicts a beggar in grey attire, positioned centrally while singing and shaking castanets to solicit alms; it is one of a set of 100 paintings illustrating trades and occupations in Canton, produced for European audiences seeking information about China and its people.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Your cart is empty
Explore artworks →
