Westlake Panorama

西湖全景

mid-1700s

China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign

(1736–95)

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Medium

One of four woodblock prints; ink on paper; printed with three wood blocks in shades of black

Measurements

Image: 34.6 x 55.2 cm (13 5/8 x 21 3/4 in.); Paper: 38 x 59.3 cm (14 15/16 x 23 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2025.82.2

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

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.

Description

Revived by the southern imperial inspection tours, West Lake imagery became a popular subject during the early Qing dynasty. This panorama is composed of four prints, showing the Ten Scenes of the West Lake in Hangzhou along with other sights. The vanishing point perspective and the hatching lines that depict shading, water, or sky derive from European copperplate prints, introduced by missionaries to China, and were celebrated novelties in 18th-century Suzhou prints. These prints also reached Europe to furnish 18th-century palace interiors.