Henri Bertin’s ornament drawings from China: who and what they were for?

Date(s)： 2022/10/12

Time： 08:00~10:00

Venue： Online Meeting

Speaker：Mr. Kee Il Choi Jr. ( Art History at the University of Zurich )

Organizer： Western Learning and China Research Group

摘要：Ornament drawings in the European tradition persistently raise issues as to their status for both art historians and connoisseurs. How proximate were their draftsmen to the artisans and their practices who made the objects depicted in these drawings? Were they intended for client presentation or for the purposes of artisanal production? European ornament like the drawings sent to Henri Bertin from China raise similar and further questions. Though produced in China, are they in fact Chinese? Many depict exemplary ceramic models that had been staples of the export trade to Europe since the seventeenth century. Still others propose models for ceramics and other objects that are less either familiar or wholly novel. What information aesthetically and/or commercially were these drawings meant to convey to Bertin and his European contemporaries? Endeavoring to address these issues – the core of my evolving doctoral project - aims to illuminate who and what Henri Bertin’s ornament drawings were for, especially since the man and his intentions with his vast, now well documented cabinet Chinois remain somewhat opaque. My presentation before this course at the National Taiwan University will expose my research to date to the discourse generated by the students and professors present.