Garden with Pavilion

This exquisite fan painting, presented to the Qianlong [Ch'ien-lung] emperor, probably depicts a real spot in the environs of Beijing, the capital. Li Shejo [Li Shih-cho], a member of a Chinese family that had served under the non-Chinese Manchus prior to the establishment of the Manchu Qing dynasty in 1644, mastered the "orthodox" painting tradition favored at court. He used it to create a realistic depiction of an actual place.