Heavenly Horses: 100 Masterpieces Across Time

Description

Heavenly Horses: Masterpieces from the Palace Museum explores how horses have shaped Chinese visual culture across centuries — spotlighting court, literati and modern interpretations in dialogue with European influences. Shown in four rotations (each with approximately 20 works on display), it spans four thematic sections: courtly imperial scenes, frontier battles and tributes, literati landscapes with horse companions and modern East-West exchanges.

In Chinese tradition, horses symbolise resilience, loyalty and nobility, while also serving as vital companions in travel, warfare and diplomacy. From imperial hunts to frontier exchanges, they occupy both practical and poetic roles, forging deep emotional and cultural connections reflected in painting.

Highlights include Jiufeng Daoren’s rare Yuan-dynasty (1279–1368) handscroll “Three Horses,” likely depicts foreign envoys presenting prized steeds as tribute to the Chinese emperor; missionary and court painter Giuseppe Castiglione’s monumental “The Qianlong Emperor Holding an Arrow” (1742), exemplifying his distinguished artistic fusion of classical European techniques and Chinese aesthetics; and Xu Beihong’s wedding gift “Two Horses” (1945), which redefined the subject in modern Chinese art.