A Curer of Skin Disease
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
A Curer of Skin Disease is a 1790 paint by Puqua, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a man treating a patient’s skin with needles. The curer holds a small tool while the patient sits still. Their faces are calm, not pained. These images were made for curious Europeans in the 1790s. People wanted to see daily life in China. The artist painted exactly what he saw, no extra drama. Look up Puqua to see more of his trade paintings.
A rectangular watercolor painting from a set of 100 depicting trades in Canton, it portrays a curer of skin disease in a colorful outfit and wide-brimmed hat carrying round instruments over his shoulder. Produced for European audiences curious about China, the work was purchased in 1898 from Parsons & Sons and later accessioned into the collection.
Read the full account in the museum source.
