Chinoiserie In 17th-18th Century European Designs

The popularity of "things Chinese" swept across European societies during the 17th-18th centuries. Reflected in decorative design, this mode was represented by "Chinoiserie" or motifs inspired by Chinese subjects. This study focuses on the design aspects of various Chinoiserie objects in the realm of decorative design in 17th-18th century Europe.Rather than journeying through the entire process with detailed accounts, this study attempts to outline, in several topics below, the characteristic features of and various factors leading to the phenomenon of Chinoiserie as an artistic trend. The first factor is exchange between China and Europe. Since the beginning of "China Trade" in the 16th century, large quantities of Chinese arts and crafts were being imported into Europe, along with introductions of the Chinese culture and customs by Western missionaries and travelers who visited China and whose writings and journals made Europeans aware of things Chinese, thus providing a social background for the formation of Chinoiserie. The second factor is imitation out of admiration, which eventually evolved into a new style of its own. Objects of arts and crafts from China, Japan, India and other Oriental countries, along with stories and reports on these subjects, human figures and landscapes in particular, became the inspiration for new creative designs in Chinoiserie. The third factor is distinctiveness of styles in terms of time periods as influenced by various artistic trends going on in Europe from the Baroque period to the Neo-classic period. Different cultural contents as well as physical forms are expressed in objects of Chinoiserie designs, and the finest examples of blends are to...