The Burlington Magazine, October 2025
The long 18th century in the October issue of The Burlington:
The Burlington Magazine 167 (October 2025)
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Self-Portrait at the Age of Twenty-Four, 1804, revised 1850–51, oil on canvas, 77 × 61 cm (Musée Condé, Chantilly).
e d i t o r i a l
• “The Story of Art at 75,” p. 959.
Gombrich’s The Story of Art is seventy-five years old this year. Its clarity of conception and expression, civilised values, and the enormous benefits that have undoubtedly resulted from its publication should be a cause for continuing admiration and celebration.
a r t i c l e s
• Sylvain Bédard, “New Proposals about Ingres’s Self-Portrait at the Age of Twenty-Four,” pp. 982–93.
Of all the self-portraits painted by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, that of 1804 now in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, remains the most discussed. The focus of criticism when it was exhibited in 1806, the painting was taken up again and transformed by the artist during his old age. Here a revised sequence for these modifications is proposed and corrections are made to its earlier history.
• Emma Roodhouse, “Scraps of Genius, Taste and Skill: Works by John Constable in the Mason Album,” pp. 994–1001.
An album emerged at auction in 2020 and was acquired by Colchester and Ipswich Museums. It included hitherto unknown and very early works by John Constable and was compiled by the Mason family, the artist’s relatives in Colchester. These juvenilia are assessed here and placed in the context of Constable’s artistic evolution and his wide social circle.
• Edward Corp, “A Recently Identified Scottish Portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie by Katherine Read,” pp. 1012–15.
There is a set of three portraits showing the exiled King James III (1701–66) and his two sons, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720–88) and Prince Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York (1725–1807), which are here attributed to Katherine Read (1723–78) and were painted while she was living in Rome between 1750 and 1753. The paintings, which are all in a Somerset collection, have similar dimensions and are framed within painted stone ovals, which have chips and carvings; it seems evident that they were made to be displayed together.
r e v i e w s
• Hugh Doherty, Review of the exhibition catalogue La Rotonde de Saint-Bénigne: 1000 ans d’histoire, ed. by by Franck Abert, Arnaud Alexandre, and Christian Sapin (Faton, 2025), pp. 1033–35.
• Cloe Cavero de Carondelet, Review of the exhibition catalogue Tan lejos, tan cerca: Guadalupe de México en España, ed. by Jaime Cuadriello and Paula Mues Orts (Prado, 2025), pp. 1039–41.
• Elena Cooper, Review of Cristina Martinez and Cynthia Roman, eds., Female Printmakers, Printsellers, and Print Publishers in the Eighteenth Century: The Imprint of Women, c. 1700–1830 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024), pp. 1052–53.
• Clive Aslet, Review of Juliet Carey and Abigail Green, eds., Jewish Country Houses (Brandeis University Press, 2024), pp. 1056–57.
o b i t u a r y
• Colin Thom, Obituary for Andrew Saint (1957–2024), pp. 1059–60.
A longstanding editor for the Survey for London, an astute architectural scholar, and a personable educator, Andrew Saint effortlessly combined many skills. His time as a professor in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Architecture shaped numerous future careers, and his contributions to the Survey enriched the history of London’s urban fabric.
The Burlington Magazine, September 2025
Canaletto, Cappriccio: The Ponte della Pescaria and Buildings in the Quay, Showing Zecca on the Right, 1744(?), oil on canvas, 84 × 130 cm
(Royal Collection Trust, © His Majesty King Charles III 2025)
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The long 18th century in the September issue of The Burlington:
The Burlington Magazine 167 (September 2025) | Italian Art
a r t i c l e s
• Gregorio Astengo and Philip Steadman, “Canaletto’s Use of Drawings of Venetian Buildings by Antonio Visentini,” pp. 896–905.
The use by Canaletto of measured drawings by Antonio Visentini and his assistants is fully considered here for the first time. He ingeniously utilised them at different points in his career to provide images of buildings in both his ‘vedute’ and ‘capricci’. This creative borrowing was possible because both painters formed part of the same successful network of artists, scientists, and patrons.
r e v i e w s
• Philippe Bordes, Review of the exhibition Duplessis (1725–1802): The Art of Painting Life / L’art de peindre la vie (Inguimbertine, Carpentras, 2025), pp. 924–27.
• Colin Bailey, Review of Katie Scott and Hannah Williams, Artists’ Things: Rediscovering Lost Property from Eighteenth-Century France (Getty Research Institute, 2024), pp. 946–48.
• Karl-Georg Pfändtner, Review of Olivier Bosc and Sophie Guérinot, eds., L’Arsenal au fil des siècles: De l’hôtel du grand maître de l’Artillerie à la bibliothèque de l’Arsenal (Le Passage / BNF, 2024), pp. 951–52.
• Timothy Revell, Review of Lieke van Deinsen, Bert Schepers, Marjan Sterckx, Hans Vlieghe, and Bert Watteeuw, eds., Campaspe Talks Back: Women Who Made a Difference in Early Modern Art (Brepols: 2024), pp. 952–53.
• Jonathan Yarker, Review of Katherine Jean McHale, Ingenious Italians: Immigrant Artists in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Brepols, 2024, p. 953.
• Conal McCarthy, Review of Deidre Brown, Ngarino Ellis, and Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art (University of Chicago Press, 2025), pp. 953–54.
Exhibition | Collections-Collection
Open since July, the Musée de la Mode et du Costume is the latest cultural project by the Costa family, which owns the perfume company Fragonard (named for the 18th-century painter). The 18th-century mansion was restored by Paris-based Studio KO (as noted by The New York Times and The World of Interiors).
Collections-Collection
Musée de la Mode et du Costume, Arles, 6 July 2025 — 4 January 2026
Robe à la française, ca. 1785–90 (Musée de la Mode et du Costume).
After five years of renovations and restoration, the Musée de la Mode et du Costume (Museum of Fashion and Costume at the Hôtel Bouchaud de Bussy ) finally opens its doors. This exceptional venue invites the public to discover custom-designed exhibition spaces at the heart of the building, including a large gallery on the first floor.
For its first exhibition, Collections-Collection, the museum brings together two collections located at the extreme ends of Provence. This fusion lends exceptional richness to the celebration of the history of costume from the French Mediterranean region and the history of textiles. Through a chronological journey, this exhibition offers the public a comprehensive overview of fashion in Provence since the 18th century. Emblematic costumes and major pieces from the Costa and Pascal collections are finally taking their place in the display cases of this long-awaited new museum.
At the request of the Fragonard house, Charles Fréger created for the future Musée de la Mode et du Costume, the only permanent work, depicting Arlesiennes against the light. Between reality and imagination, this internationally renowned photographer devotes himself to groups of belonging and their external symbols. Insatiable, he travels the globe and produces series of flamboyant portraits that capture the individual in his environment and question the creation of archetypal figures. Between poetry and pictorial rigor, his work gives pride of place to the collective: whether in uniforms, work clothes, or colorful masquerade costumes.
Exhibition | Secret Maps
Opening today at the British Library:
Secret Maps
British Library, London, 24 October 2025 — 18 January 2026
Curated by Tom Harper, Nick Dykes, and Magdalena Peszko
Paul Sandby and William Roy, Great Map of Scotland, ca. 1755 (London: British Library, Maps CC.5.a.441).
Step into the shadows at Secret Maps, a major new exhibition revealing the stories hidden in some of history’s most mysterious maps. Maps have always been more than just tools for navigation—in the hand of governments, groups, and individuals, maps create and control knowledge. In Secret Maps, we trace the levels of power, coercion, and secrecy that lie behind maps from the 14th century to the present day, and uncover the invisible forces that draw and distort the world around us. Some of the maps on display reveal hidden landscapes, offering insight into places long forgotten or erased from official histories. Others are purposefully deceptive, designed to protect treasures, mask strategic locations, or reshape the way we see the world. This exhibition uncovers each of their individual secrets, revealing their hidden purposes and power.
Tom Harper, Nick Dykes, and Magdalena Peszko, Secret Maps: How They Conceal and Reveal the World (London: British Library Publishing, 2025), 256 pages, ISBN: 978-0712355643, £40.
Exhibition | Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture
Soane office, Royal Academy Lecture Drawings of the work of Sir John Vanbrugh, Blenheim Palace, elevation
(London: Sir John Soane’s Museum, SM 74/4/8)
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The exhibition opens in the spring; the book launches this fall:
Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture
Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, 4 March — 28 June 2026
Curated by Charles Saumarez Smith
300 years after his death, a major new exhibition exploring one of the UK’s greatest architects—Sir John Vanbrugh (1664–1726)—will open in the spring at Sir John Soane’s Museum. Some of the UK’s most admired and loved country houses like Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard were the result of Vanbrugh’s genius, becoming cornerstones of English Baroque. Soane cited him as one of his great influences, saying Vanbrugh had “all the fire and power of Michelangelo and Bernini.”
Curated by Sir Charles Saumarez Smith CBE and architect Roz Barr, the exhibition will feature never-before-exhibited drawings from the collections of the V&A, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the National Portrait Gallery, and Sir John Soane’s Museum, including many in Vanbrugh’s own hand. Perhaps overshadowed by contemporaries Nicholas Hawksmoor and Sir Christopher Wren, the emotional impact and imagination of Vanbrugh has continued to be admired, particularly by architects, in the centuries since. The exhibition will highlight Vanbrugh’s enduring architectural ideas and influence, including on two of the most influential architects of the 20th century, Robert Venturi (1925–2018) and Denise Scott Brown (b.1931). A new short film by filmmaker Jim Venturi, their son, will explore this connection and will be shown on loop in the Museum’s Foyle Space. Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture will introduce new audiences to the work of an English Baroque architect, adventurer, playwright, and spy 300 years after his death.
Charles Saumarez Smith, John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture (London: Lund Humphries, 2025), 272 pages, ISBN: 978-1848227316, £30.
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Book tickets at Wigmore Hall:
Book launch | John Vanbrugh: The Drama of Architecture
The Wigmore Hall, London, 20 November 2025, 12.30pm
Charles Saumarez Smith will give a lunchtime talk on Vanbrugh’s extraordinary life: his upbringing; why he spent so much time in a French gaol; the writing of The Relapse and The Provoked Wife; and how he came to design Castle Howard with no previous experience of architecture. Saumarez Smith will give particular attention to Vanbrugh’s work as a theatrical impresario and the designer of the Queen’s Theatre, Haymarket, so disastrous as a venue for plays, but where all of Handel’s early operas were performed. He will then describe Vanbrugh’s quarrel with the Duchess of Marlborough and his later work as an architect, at King’s Weston, Claremont, Grimsthorpe, Seaton Delaval, and Stowe. In recent years, Vanbrugh’s reputation as an architect has been eclipsed by his subordinate, Nicholas Hawksmoor. This talk and the accompanying book will explain Vanbrugh’s originality and influence on later architects from Robert Adam to Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.
Exhibition | Egypt: Influencing British Design, 1775–2025
George Dance, Front Elevation of a Library Chimney-piece for the 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square, Westminster, ca. 1788–94; pen, sepia, raw umber, and crimson washes, shaded on laid paper laid down on (old) board with double-ruled border (London: Sir John Soane’s Museum, SM D3/3/3).
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Now on view at The Soane:
Egypt: Influencing British Design, 1775–2025
Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, 8 October 2025 — 18 January 2026
The mystery, romance, and aesthetic appeal of ancient Egypt has informed richly decorated Regency homes, Victorian factories and cemeteries, Art Deco cinemas, and twentieth-century houses, shops, and offices. This exhibition explores the British fascination with all things Egyptian through evocative drawings and books owned by Soane. Decorative objects including Wedgwood ceramics, Liberty Fabrics, and an Egyptian-style Singer sewing machine demonstrate the range of ways people have brought Egypt into their homes from Soane’s time to today.
This exhibition is accompanied by new work by Cairo-born artist Sara Sallam. As part of this exhibition, Sallam has produced A Tourist Handbook for Egypt outside of Egypt, Vol. II, London. Displayed in the Foyle Space in large scale, Sallam’s collages juxtapose photographs of London’s commemorative statues and imperial architecture with nineteenth-century paintings of correlating events in Egypt. Copies are available for purchase from the museum shop. Sallam’s second work, Eyes that Weep, Eyes that Pierce, is an audio tour, available exclusively on Bloomberg Connects, inspired by the sarcophagus of Seti I. Sallam invites you to listen closely to the Egyptian sky goddess Nut (seen inside the sarcophagus), her voice tracing the many eyes that have peered into Seti I’s sarcophagus across time.
Exhibition | Mary Linwood: Art, Stitch and Life
Mary Linwood, Pomeranian Dog, detail, needlework, 68 × 86 cm
(Leicester Museum & Art Gallery)
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Now on view, as noted by Adam Busiakiewicz for the Art History News blog:
Mary Linwood: Art, Stitch, and Life
Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, 13 September 2025 — 22 February 2026
A retrospective of the Leicester textile artist Mary Linwood (1755–1845)
Leicester’s Mary Linwood was a celebrity artist in the early 1800s but has since been largely forgotten. She created detailed embroidered versions of famous British paintings using a technique known as needle painting. Linwood was not only a talented artist but also an innovator and entrepreneur. Alongside running a successful school for young ladies in Leicester, she exhibited her embroidered works in touring exhibitions and established the first gallery in London to be run by a woman. In her lifetime, Linwood was supported by the wealthy and powerful, and was widely respected and well known. Since her death, however, she has been overlooked and undervalued. This exhibition is the first retrospective of Mary Linwood’s work since 1945, featuring 14 embroidered works from the Leicester Museums collections. Alongside these historic pieces are new textile artworks by Ruth Singer, reflecting on Linwood’s life and legacy.
Ruth Singer, Lost Threads: Mary Linwood’s Legacy (2025), 60 pages, £15. Available for purchase here.
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It’s also a fine opportunity to remind readers of Heidi Strobel’s recent book, The Art of Mary Linwood: Embroidery, Installation, and Entrepreneurship in Britain, 1787–1845. –CH
Exhibitions | Casanova and Venice / Casanova and Europe
Francesco Guardi, View of San Giorgio Maggiore
(Venice: Fondazione Giorgio Cini)
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From the Fondazione Giorgio Cini:
Casanova and Venice
Palazzo Cini, Venice, 27 September 2025 — 2 March 2026
Casanova and Europe: An Opera in Multiple Acts
San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, 17 October 2025 – 2 March 2026
On the 300th anniversary of the birth of Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798), the Fondazione Giorgio Cini is dedicating a major exhibition and cultural project to the celebrated Venetian. The first chapter of the double exhibition opens at Palazzo Cini in San Vio on September 27. Curated by the Institute of Art History, with the participation of the Institute for Theater and Opera, the exhibition traces the multifaceted figure of Casanova—scholar, memoirist, philosopher, alchemist, traveler, and diplomat—throughout a restless century that ended with the fall of the Serenissima. Through nearly one hundred works including paintings, engravings, books, objets d’art, and documents from the Foundation’s collections and prestigious Italian and European institutions, the exhibition recounts the refined, cultured, and contradictory world of the Venetian 18th century—Casanova’s century.
The exhibition is part of a wider cultural program involving all the Fondazione Giorgio Cini institutions, with conferences, concerts, and seminars dedicated to the link between Casanova, Venice, and Europe. The aim is to present a complex and multidisciplinary portrait of one of the most iconic figures in the history of Venice, who was a central figure during the final century of the Serenissima’s existence. The Foundation celebrates the European spirit embodied by Casanova.
“The project dedicated to Casanova is an opportunity to highlight the deep connection between the Fondazione Giorgio Cini and the city, its history, and its cultural context, drawing inspiration,” explains President Gianfelice Rocca, “from the great personalities and significant themes that have shaped history. It is an opportunity to emphasise the expertise, research, and collaboration between the Foundation’s Institutes and Centres in an international context. The Foundation’s vocation is to be an active participant, through this and other events, in the global stage of dialogue based on cultural diplomacy as a useful and necessary tool to respond to an era like ours, in which cultures and civilisations risk becoming enemies, unable to listen to, understand, and collaborate with each other.”
The Scientific Director, Daniele Franco, emphasises, “Fondazione Giorgio Cini is working to propose a reading of Casanova that goes beyond the usual imagery, the ‘myth’ that has become entrenched in traditional interpretations surrounding him. The primary aim is to highlight a complex character, a man who, from Venice, travels throughout Europe, in a historical period of rapid cultural and political change, where a vision of European society begins to emerge, one that is permeated by uncertainties, tensions, and an increasingly open and complex cultural debate. In Casanova’s writings, we can find many of the contradictions and forces for change that Europe is grappling with today.”
• Casanova e Venezia, at Palazzo Cini (27 September 2025 – 2 March 2026) with a focus on Venice, the birthplace and the first stage of Casanova’s life.
• Casanova e l’Europa: Opera in più atti, on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore (17 October 2025 – 2 March 2026), a look at Europe and the network of travels, relationships, and adventures that made Casanova an ante litteram European figure. The exhibition is produced in collaboration for the staging with the Fondazione Teatro La Fenice.
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Note (added 2 November 2025) — The press release for Casanova e l’Europa: Opera in più atti is available here.
Exhibition | Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David, The Intervention of the Sabine Women, detail, 1799, oil on canvas, 3.85 × 5.22 meters
(Paris: Musée du Louvre)
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From the press release for the exhibition:
Jacques-Louis David
Musée du Louvre, Paris, 15 October 2025 — 26 January 2026
Curated by Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre, with assistance from Aude Gobet
David is a towering figure. Considered the father of the French School, revered for breathing new life into painting, he produced imagery that to this day inhabits the collective imagination: from The Death of Marat to Napoleon Crossing the Alps and The Coronation of Napoleon, his paintings are the filter through which we picture the great moments of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire, while his portraits bring to life the society of this period.
Jacques-Louis David, Portrait of Robertine Tourteau d’Orvilliers, née Rilliet (1772–1862), 1790, oil on canvas, 131 × 98 cm (Paris: Musée du Louvre / Adrien Didierjean / Sylvie Chan-Liat).
To mark the bicentennial of his death in exile in Brussels in 1825, the Musée du Louvre is offering a new perspective on a figure and body of work of extraordinary richness and diversity. The exhibition shines a light on the inventive force and expressive power of the art of Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), whose paintings are more intensely charged with feeling than is belied by their extreme rigour. The exhibition spans the long career of an artist who witnessed six different political regimes and actively participated in the French Revolution. It gathers 100 works on special loan, including the imposing, incomplete Tennis Court Oath (Château de Versailles, long-term loan from the Musée du Louvre), and the original version of his masterpiece, the celebrated Death of Marat (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels).
A project of such ambition could only be undertaken at the Louvre, which holds the largest existing collection of the artist’s paintings and drawings—including, first and foremost, his very large canvasses. The last major monographic exhibition devoted to David was held at the Louvre and the Château de Versailles in 1989 for bicentennial commemorations of the French Revolution. Enhanced by research conducted in the ensuing three decades, the 2025 exhibition will present a new survey revealing the unprecedented richness of David’s journey, combining artistic and political activity. Indeed, more than simply an artist observing this formative period in French history, spanning the years 1748–1825, he sought to be a prominent social actor.
The painter’s importance was unmatched in his day, for his Europe-wide artistic influence, as well as the high political offices he held in 1793–1794 alongside Robespierre, for which he suffered the consequences as a political exile after the fall of Napoleon.
The exhibition is curated by Sébastien Allard, Senior Heritage Curator, Director of the Department of Paintings, and Côme Fabre, Curator, Department of Paintings, and assisted by Aude Gobet, Head of the Department of Paintings Research Centre, Musée du Louvre. The exhibition design is by Juan-Felipe Alarcón, with graphic design by Philippe Apeloig.
Sébastien Allard, ed., Jacques-Louis David (Paris: Louvre éditions/ Hazan, 2025), 360 pages, €49.
The catalogue reflects the exhibition in offering new perspectives on David’s role and position, focusing on two essential aspects of his activity: his involvement during the French Revolution; and, after the fall of the First Empire and his exile to Brussels, his confrontation with the new generation—and Ingres, in particular—whose training he had largely overseen. The publication is divided into two parts. In the first, an essay by Sébastien Allard seeks to shift perceptions of the artist, examining his life as a coherent whole, in contrast to how historians have tended to fragment it according to the different political regimes David experienced. Sumptuous reproductions, including numerous details, help remove the proverbial dust from the image sometimes held of the painter’s work. The second part encompasses an essay by Côme Fabre on the connections between David and the Louvre; a biographical account by Aude Gobet; and a chronology of major David-related moments, from his death to today, by Morgane Weinling.
Forbidden City’s Qianlong Garden Reopens after Conservation
When the Qianlong Emperor abdicated in 1796, he had a retirement complex waiting for him in a 1.6-hectare space within the Forbidden City. But he never took up residence in the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, and the site has remained largely untouched ever since. It contains some of the most extraordinary examples of Chinese interior design in existence today. Pictured here, Juanqinzhai, or Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service, is noted for the trompe-l’oeil silk paintings on the ceiling and walls of its private theater. Its reception room also contains unusually fine bamboo thread marquetry and inner bamboo skin carvings, as well as jade inlays and sophisticated textile decorations.
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From the WMF press release (30 September 2025) . . .
World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the Palace Museum today announced the official public opening of the Qianlong Garden, a masterwork of 18th-century Chinese imperial design located in the northeast corner of Beijing’s Forbidden City. After a two-decade-long conservation effort, the garden has reopened. A new on-site exhibition will offer a comprehensive understanding of the Qianlong Garden’s interiors, design, and craftsmanship. The inauguration of the garden will be accompanied by the publication of the book Tranquil Longevity, Predestined Serenity: The Origins, Interpretation and Conservation of the Qianlong Garden, providing an in-depth look at the history of the Qianlong Garden and the restoration of the site.
Restored exterior of Qianlong Garden.
Constructed by the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796) as a planned retreat for his later years, the 1.6-hectare site includes 27 buildings across four courtyards, with ornate interiors that preserve original furniture, decorative finishes, and rare materials largely untouched since the 18th century. Following an extensive 25-year conservation initiative led by World Monuments Fund (WMF) in partnership with the Palace Museum, the site now features restored interiors and exteriors showcasing some of the most refined and culturally significant artistry of the Qing Dynasty. This collaboration brought together international experts and Chinese artisans to address the site’s preservation challenges, revive endangered craft techniques, and uphold the garden’s extraordinary architectural integrity.
“This is a landmark moment for heritage conservation in China,” said Hunghsi Chao, Senior Regional Director for East Asia at World Monuments Fund. “Qianlong Garden represents an unparalleled survival of imperial interior design, and its preservation requires both technical precision and deep cultural understanding. Through our work with the Palace Museum, we have not only safeguarded a historic treasure but have helped reinvigorate traditional craftsmanship and inspired new generations of conservation professionals.”
As a cornerstone of the conservation effort, WMF launched the CRAFT Educational Program (Conservation Resources for Architectural Interiors, Furniture, and Training) in 2011 to provide formal training in architectural conservation. In partnership with Tsinghua University and the Palace Museum, the program became a master’s-level conservation initiative in China to align with international standards, blending scientific methodology with traditional Chinese techniques.
“World Monuments Fund’s partnership with the Palace Museum has shown how international collaboration and local expertise can come together to achieve something truly exceptional,” said Bénédicte de Montlaur, President and CEO of World Monuments Fund. “Qianlong Garden is a living document of Qing-era craftsmanship and global influence—its preservation stands as a model for how education, science, and culture can shape the future of heritage.”
Model of the Qianlong Garden from the exhibition “Heavenly Craftsmanship: The History and Preservation of the Ningshou Palace Garden.”
A pilot project for the broader site was launched in 2002 with the restoration of Juanqinzhai (Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service), a pavilion known for its rare trompe l’oeil silk murals, bamboo marquetry, and theatrical stage. Conservation of Juanqinzhai revived long-lost techniques and informed all subsequent work throughout the garden. Completed interventions include the Fuwangge (Belvedere of Viewing Achievements), Zhuxiangguan (Lodge of Bamboo Fragrance), and Yucuixuan (Bower of Purest Jade), while work continues across the remaining courtyards.
“Joint projects involving the Palace Museum in China and World Monuments Fund based in the United States, beginning in 2000 and continuing to the present, have demonstrated that, in the context of globalization, different civilizations can achieve mutual understanding and respect through dialogue, communication, and cooperation, and thus jointly promote the prosperity and development of human civilization,” said Director Wang Xudong of the Palace Museum.
The inauguration ceremony welcomed representatives from the Palace Museum and World Monuments Fund, cultural leaders, and conservation experts to celebrate the public opening of the Qianlong Garden as part of the Palace Museum’s centennial. Building on the success of this project, the Palace Museum and World Monuments Fund will continue to collaborate on preservation and training initiatives throughout the Forbidden City.
Alongside the opening, the Palace Museum published Tranquil Longevity, Predestined Serenity: The Origins, Interpretation, and Conservation of the Qianlong Garden, providing an in-depth look at the storied history of Qianlong Garden. The book also details the full story of the spirit of cooperation between Chinese and American heritage professionals who faced daunting obstacles to restore the site. Readers can explore the garden and its preservation through detailed illustrations, new photography, rarely published drawings, and historic photographs of the Qianlong Garden taken during the last days of the Qing Dynasty.
The exhibition Heavenly Craftsmanship: The History and Preservation of the Ningshou Palace Garden will be on display in the garden’s Suichu Hall and the east and west side halls, presenting the historical and cultural value of the Ningshou Palace Garden and the achievements of its preservation and restoration.
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