Man Fluffing Cotton
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Man Fluffing Cotton is a 1790 paint by Puqua, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a man tending a pile of raw cotton with a tool. His hands move carefully over the fibers. The light catches the cotton’s fluff, making it look soft and alive. It’s part of a set of 100 images showing different jobs in Canton. Europeans bought these to learn about China. The artist paid close attention to small details like the man’s posture. You can see this work at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
A rectangular watercolor painting depicts a figure standing at a large workbench piled with cotton, using an apparatus strapped to their back to fluff the material. Part of a set of 100 images illustrating trades in Canton, the work was created to inform European audiences about Chinese occupations.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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