Chinese Ancestoral Portrait

Karel Appel, Dutch, 1921-2006, biomorphic figures, watercolor and graphite, circa 1971. Provenance: painted for and personally given to the superintendent of Appel's apartment buildi...

A beautiful and intricate interplay of colors with wonderful movement. Provenance: Collection of the Bank of Oklahoma (as pictured).

A painting on canvas signed "Klein, 69" in the vibrant colors of the era yellows, violets, deep eggplant. In original wood frame. From a Private Collection in San Diego.

A large Richard Mann acrylic painting on masonite with blue, white, yellow and madder lake green .The piece is titled #2711 and signed R. Mann.

An original, large-scale, acrylic on masonite painting by American artist Richard Mann. The piece is unframed and marked R. Mann on the lower centre of the painting.

An original, large-scale, abstract oil on canvas painting by American artist Dede Coover, a registered and award winning artist since the 1950s. The artist, native to California, has...

A Chinese 'Ancestor Portrait' oil on canvas laid down on board, depicting a seated dignitary. The Chinese characters identify the artist at Giuseppe Castiglione...

Chinese ancestor portrait of a Mandarin Dignitary. Antique tempera on paper painting of a Mandarin Dignitary wearing a red court dress and s...

This intricately detailed composition is a late-Qing dynasty ancestor portrait depicting several generations of a family's male ancestry. Or...

Believing that the departed continue to hold influence over the lives of the living, many Chinese households honor their ancestors in private family rituals, invoking their spirits f...

Believing that the departed continue to hold influence over the lives of the living, many Chinese households honor their ancestors in private family rituals, invoking their spirits for long life, health, and prosperity. Commemorative portraits, which came into vogue in the late Ming and Qing dynasties, were commissioned specifically for ancestor worship and were believed to house the spirits of the deceased. When properly cared for, one's ancestors were believed to be a powerful source of honor, protection, and good luck. This pair of ancestor portraits was hand-painted in the late-19th century and beautifully depicts a Qing-dynasty couple. While some ancestral portraits offer a more stylized representation of one's ancestors, this particular pair is painted with incredible realism and life-like expressions. Rather than depict the pair in a regal hall wearing elaborate finery, the couple is shown in a quiet home environment, seated at either end of a square tea table. Their surroundings are minimal, practically undecorated, and they wear simple, matching blue silk robes. Two young children stand beside them, each trying to capture the attention of their grandparent. We love the painting's close attention to detail and the glimpse it offers of Qing-dynasty interiors - from the carved apron of the marble-top table to the red silk lotus slippers...

Qing Dynasty Chinese Ancestor painting. Antique Chinese Ancestor paintings are sought after for their warm colors and traditional pa...