Enlightenment never ends

Most exhibits in this chapter show cultural communication between Europe and China in the 18th century. It includes porcelain fired in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province with Dutch patterns.

The most prominent work is the original etchings depicting the pacification of minorities in Xinjiang during the reign of the Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799), presented by the Berlin State Museum.

The 16 etchings record the fighting, surrender and celebration, and were made at the request of the Qianlong Emperor by Italian missionary and court painter Giuseppe Castiglione and French missionary Jean Denis Attiret.

They made the sketches in China and created etchings in Paris. It took 11 years to finish the project. In 1900, when military forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Beijing, they etchings were taken to Europe.

It is easy to define the Enlightenment in literature, but in terms of art, it is always divided into the styles of baroque, rococo, classical, neo-classic, romanticist and modern. “We selected the exhibits to suit the Englightenment, not as an exhibition of art history,” Eissenhauer said.

The last chapter, “The Revolution of Art,” concludes with the present day and investigates the legacy of enlightenment ideas in modern art, including the works by Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol.

Chinese organizers proposed the idea of presenting contemporary artists’ works, but the Germans were reluctant. Organizers eventually persuaded them that the independent and free spirit of the Enlightenment never ended, and continues to influence contemporary artists.

“I do not think the Enlightenment will ever end,” said Chen Ping, an official from the Ministry of Culture. “In each era, we need the spirit of Enlightenment in art and form. China needs it. Even Europe needs it today.”