Spring Market at Peace

Spring Market at Peace (太平春市圖)

Ding Guanpeng (丁觀鵬, ca.1707-1770), Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

Handscroll, ink and color on silk, 30.3 x 233.5 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei

       Ding Guanpeng served the court during the Qianlong era (1736-1795). Excelling at painting Buddhist and Daoist figures, he studied the style of the late Ming artist Ding Yunpeng (丁雲鵬, 1547-1628). He also incorporated Western methods of perspective, his coloring adding light and shadows to create a realistic effect. This work from 1742 under the Qianlong Emperor depicts amusements in the countryside during the Lunar New Year. Fellow countrymen bow to each other with scenes of firecrackers for sale, people beating peace drums, a person with a performing monkey, a model boat prop, a stage canopy, peddlers and wares, and people milling about. Including pines, peach, and bamboo, all are done realistically.