When discussing the influence of Chinoiserie (Chinese-style) on Europe, people often first focus on its impact on the Baroque style of the European continent at the end of the 17th century, which was the first large-scale encounter between Chinoiserie and Europe. Additionally, the peak of Chinoiserie in the mid-18th century and its indirect contribution and influence on the Rococo style are also highly regarded.
However, Chinoiserie also had a profound influence on Romanticism, which emerged at the end of the 18th century. The 18th century is considered the era of Neoclassicism, which emphasized order, symmetry, and reason. However, by the mid-century, challenges to rules and traditions began to appear in art and literature, which gradually developed into Romanticism. Romanticism emphasized emotion, nature, and personal expression, opposing the rigid rules of Neoclassicism. This coincided with the notable irregularity and exoticism of Chinoiserie art, both of which contrast sharply with the strict, rule-bound nature of Neoclassicism.
The Chinoiserie Chinese Tower in Kew Gardens
For example, Chinoiserie horticulture particularly emphasizes the imitation of nature, incorporating irregular hills, waterfalls, lakes, and forests into its designs. This concept contrasts sharply with the traditional European style of symmetric and orderly gardening, sparking interest in nature and non-traditional aesthetics. The influence of Chinese gardening on British garden design is particularly notable. William Chambers’ Kew Gardens integrates elements of Chinoiserie, such as pagodas, artificial hills, and waterfalls, demonstrating a harmonious unity of nature and art. Artificial hills and rockeries are often combined with water features to create a dynamic and static landscape effect. Chambers adopted the principle of mimicking nature in his designs, avoiding symmetry and artificial embellishment to make the garden appear more natural and harmonious. This design philosophy aligns with the traditional Chinese gardening principle of imitating nature and the idea of a garden being like a painting. Chambers believed that the artistry of Chinese gardening lies in its ability to stimulate the emotions and imagination of viewers through irregular and exotic designs. By introducing elements of Chinoiserie, Kew Gardens offers visitors a novel and mysterious experience, stimulating their imagination and longing for Far Eastern culture. The Chinese-style design of Kew Gardens had a significant impact in mid-18th century Britain. It not only showcased the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures but also set a precedent for subsequent garden designs. The success of Kew Gardens led to the widespread application of Chinoiserie in garden design across Britain and Europe, becoming one of the significant artistic trends of the era.
The “ChuCui Palace Dancing in Clouds Necklace
Another example is the Chinoiserie jewelry from ChuCui Palace, which conveys a refined sense of Romanticism through its unique irregular beauty and imitation of nature. The ChuCui Palace piece, “Dancing in Clouds” necklace, juxtaposes traditional Chinese ink colors with the curves typical in Chinoiserie. By abstracting and refining the image of the crane, it emphasizes a subjective artistic expression of the bird, capturing the nuances of its demeanor. This piece is filled with the irregular natural vocabulary of Chinoiserie, originating from the East.
The piece abstracts the crane’s neck into a long arc, fully showcasing the extreme pursuit of tension in lines found in Eastern aesthetics. The crane’s feathers are reduced to dense, short curves that connect with the beak, creating a contrast between simplicity and complexity, abstract and concrete, thus generating an irregular beauty and a dynamic tension among the lines. The work emulates the pure black and white hues of traditional Chinese ink painting, which not only aligns with the image of the crane but also represents a refinement of natural aesthetics, expressing the crane’s nobility and ethereal grace.
Chinoiserie cabinet made by Pierre Langlois
Another classic example can be found at Powis Castle, where a Chinoiserie cabinet made by Pierre Langlois, a French-born furniture maker and craftsman, from the 1760s is housed. The decoration of this cabinet utilized lacquer parts that may have originated from a Chinese folding screen. Cutting and adjusting Asian lacquer to fit European furniture was an extremely delicate task that involved reducing the thickness of the lacquer panels to just a few millimeters for use as veneer. Langlois and his workshop’s craftsmen clearly aimed to combine Chinese lacquer with European Rococo-style cabinets. It is notable that the Rococo parts of the decoration maintain symmetry, but the Chinese lacquer parts break free from the constraints of classicism, expressing an irregular narrative scene. The left and right lacquer cabinet faces display completely different scenes—the right shows a rural residence, while the left depicts musicians performing in a palace or mansion. The gilded ornaments and the golden veins of the marble top echo the gold and black tones of the lacquer. Although the work erases the original meaning of the Eastern culture it contains, this cabinet was very expensive and highly esteemed at the time, being hailed as a model of “modern taste.”
In summary, Chinoiserie not only had a significant impact on European Baroque and Rococo styles during the 17th and 18th centuries, but it also fostered and deepened the expression of Romanticism at the end of the 18th century. By introducing irregular beauty and exoticism from nature, Chinoiserie art broke through the constraints of Neoclassicism and inspired the pursuit of emotion and personalized expression. Whether in William Chambers’ Kew Gardens, the jewelry designs of ChuCui Palace, or the furniture works of Pierre Langlois, we can see a deep integration and mutual influence of Eastern and Western cultures. Chinoiserie, with its unique artistic language and design principles, continues to inject fresh vitality into European art development, serving as a classic example of cross-cultural artistic exchange.
