JIANG GUOFANG - Glories of the Forbidden City

With traditional training at the China Academy of Fine Arts, Jiang Guofang devoted himself to the historical theme of the Qing Dynasty. His paintings are painstakingly meticulous, portraying most women (the Emperor's concubines) and the Emperors themselves as children.

The Forbidden City, as the name suggests, has always been a closed arena for the royal family and thus carries myriad legends. Young women were selected to be wives of the Emperors and sent to the Forbidden City without any hope of ever leaving again. Many of them never actually met with the Emperor and virtually lived (or died) a life of absolute loneliness.

Jiang's paintings depict these tragedies in utmost details. His choice of this mystic theme and his realistic style have won him international reputation.