Two Beautiful Ladies
1766
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1766
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Two Beautiful Ladies is a 1766 by Unknown, a Baroque work, depicting Qianlong Reign, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two women in silk robes standing side by side, holding a fan and a scroll. This painting was made in China during the Qianlong reign, when colorful prints became popular in cities. It’s not a formal portrait—just a pretty scene meant to decorate a home. The unknown artist likely worked in a workshop, not a palace. To see more art from this time, look up *qing dynasty (1644–1911)*.
In the 1600s, printing flourished in such Jiangnan cities as Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Huizhou, evolving from privately enjoyed illustrated books printed in color to more commercialized single-sheet color prints that were hung on walls and became part of the rich urban visual culture.
Woodblock printing in color reached a height in China in the 1600s to 1700s. The prints were executed by means of sets of separate blocks, each carved to print a different color.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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