Portraits of Meritorious Officials, Commissioned during the Reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795), in the Collection of Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

This article provides an analysis of the twelve portraits of Qing military officials from the collection of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. The portraits, executed by Jesuit artists during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, were intended to serve as studies for a series of portraits in the form of large-scale hanging scrolls. The article examines the artistic features of portraits in the context of Chinese and European painting traditions, and also identifies a number of problems associated with the attribution of these images. The creative method of European artists who worked at the court of the Qing emperor is manifested in portraits painted in oil on paper to a greater extent than in the official ceremonial images of the emperor and high-ranking officials painted by the same masters. There are noticeable differences between the bust portraits and large portraits, confirming the participation of Chinese artists in the work on the hanging scrolls. The details of each hero’s attire allow scholars not only to compare the insignia in the portraits with the status of the military officials, but also to clarify the rank of little-known officers whose merits in the military campaigns against Dzungaria and East Turkestan were rewarded by the emperor. As the twelve portraits become objects of scientific research for the first time, their further study with the involvement of various written and visual sources will significantly expand the knowledge about the court art of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.