The Embarkment of the Emperor of China

end of 17th century

Under the direction of Philippe Béhagle
Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (cartonnier)
Jean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay (cartonnier)
Guy-Louis Vernansal (cartonnier)

This late 17th-century hanging radically renews the traditional decorative and artistic repertoire characterised by classical mythology with a more decorative style influenced by the recent vogue for East Asia in European courts. While the background suggests a Chinese city, the fanciful architecture in the foreground is suggestive of Gothic vocabulary rather than any Chinese style. The emperor appears on a vessel similar to a junk decorated with dragons and garlands before the eyes of an empress enthroned beneath a canopy.