Welcome to Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art,

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2024, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (2): 42-52.

• A Study of Socialist Diseourse System with Chinese Characteristics: Chinese and Western Art in Cross-cultural Perspective • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Variation, Vanitas, and Meta-Picture: An Interpretation of the Blue and White Porcelain Bowls with the Pattern of “Dongpo's Tour at Red Cliff” in Jacques Linard's Still Life Paintings

He Yanjun   

  • Online:2024-03-25 Published:2024-06-12
  • About author:He Yanjun, Ph. D., is an assistant researcher in Guangzhou Cultural & Arts Center (Guangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center). Her research interests include ancient Chinese literature, history of ancient Chinese art and Chinese intangible cultural heritage.

Abstract: In the 17th century, French painter Jacques Linard executed a series of still life paintings over thirteen years, consistently featuring a blue and white porcelain bowl adorned with the motif of “Dongpo's Tour at Red Cliff.” This repeated motif emerged as a symbolic element within his works exploring themes of the “five senses” and “vanitas.” Due to the divergent cultural and artistic contexts of China and the West, the depicted porcelain bowls exhibit a transformation in function, decoration, and significance. These alterations not only shift the representation of “Dongpo's Tour at Red Cliff” from its literary origins to a purely visual form but also imbue the motif with new layers of meaning. Consequently, Linard's works, particularly Porcelana china con flores, prominently display characteristics of a “meta-picture” or “meta-painting.”

Key words: the image of “Dongpo's Tour at Red Cliff”, five-sense painting, vanitas, meta-painting, maritime Silk Road