The Virgin and Child (Our Lady of Grace)

Painted in South China in the final decades of the eighteenth century, most likely in Guangzhou (Canton - Province of Guangdong), this reverse painting on glass depicts The Virgin and Child. A lower centre gilt inscription in Portuguese identifies it as ‘N. S. DA GRASA’ (Our Lady of Grace).

Although such Chinese artworks bearing Portuguese inscriptions have traditionally been identified as from Macao, there is no evidence of reverse glass painters at work in that Portuguese outpost. As such, it seems more likely that a probably Portuguese client, providing the visual source along with the accompanying inscription, commissioned it to be painted in one of the many documented workshops in the city of Canton, a well-known production centre for such paintings.

Given the inscription, it is also possible that the painting was intended for the church of the Augustinian convent in Macao, originally Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Graça (Church of Our Lady of Grace) and now Church of Saint Augustine. Founded by Spanish Augustinians and transferred to the Order Portuguese branch in 1589, the church, whose construction began in 1591, was completed in the seventeenth century. Destroyed by fire in 1872 it was subsequently rebuilt and still stands today.[1]

Unlike common painting techniques, this depiction of the Virgin and Child was painted on the reverse of a glass plate possibly imported from Europe.[2] Although viewed through the transparent glass surface, the image was in fact painted from the back, in reverse. Often copying a predetermined composition, the technique requires that the artist prioritizes the smallest details and highlights, before filling larger coloured areas. Such process was illustrated in a contemporary depiction of a Chinese glass painter artist, one of a set of one hundred watercolour and ink paintings on paper from ca. 1790, portraying trades and occupations in Canton.[3] In it, the painter artist is shown seated at a table, where, set in a wooden frame, the glass plate lies flat. Brushes of various sizes, a porcelain inkwell, and a palette are featured nearby. Vertically positioned facing the painter, a likely European print is copied in full colour onto the glass back surface. The artist hand rests on a narrow strip of wood placed over the frame, allowing for control of brushwork without smudging the freshly painted layers.

Known as bōlí bèihuà (painting on the back of a glass sheet) or jìnghuà (mirror painting), Chinese reverse painting on glass encompassed works on plain glass and on mirrored glass.[4] The latter process involved scratching out the tin and mercury amalgam applied to the back of the glass and filling the voids with coloured pigments. In our portrait, excepting the background areas of sky, the entire surface was painted, a technique known as liúbái (leaving the void). This rare example of Christian imagery was produced in the traditional gōngbǐ 工筆 style (delicate brushstroke) characterised by meticulously applied, bright and vivid pigment layers.[5]

Although Virgin and Child and Holy Family depictions became increasingly intimate and realistic in their portrayal of motherly love, it is rare to find early modern prints featuring The Child Christ embracing and caressing His Mother’s face. This gesture, nonetheless, derives from depictions of Our Lady of Grace, particularly from the much-revered Cambrai Madonna (Notre-Dame de Grâce). This Italo-Byzantine Madonna, painted around 1340 as a replica of the icon of the Virgin Eleousa (Virgin of Tenderness or Compassion), was taken to Cambrai in 1451, as an original painting by St Luke.[6] The iconography, showing the Christ Child nestled against His Mother’s cheek would exert considerable influence in the Latin West.

Notable example of this iconography is an engraving by Schelte Adamsz. Bolswert (ca. 1586-1659), after an original by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)[7] [Fig. 1], which possibly inspired our reverse glass painting, or perhaps the unknown printed source that served as its prototype. Created in the first half of the seventeenth century as part of a series of ninety devotional engravings (Vélins) based on Rubens’ designs, its small size (13.3 x 9.1 cm) may have aided its global diffusion.

Although in general our reverse glass painting follows Rubens’ composition, it departs from the original in one significant detail: the addition of an orb under The Child’s right foot, alluding to His role as Salvator Mundi. The orb, pierced by evil snakes, emphasises His triumph over sin and world’s governance. It is likely that this detail copies an engraving by John Faber the Younger (ca. 1684-1756) after an original by Robert Browne (ca. 1672-1753), published in the mid-eighteenth century.[8]

Dating Chinese reverse glass paintings is remarkably challenging due to the lack of provenance details or original frames. Although the first examples of Chinese-painted ‘looking glasses’ arrived in Europe in the 1730s, a peak in imports documented between 1740 and 1770, the derivative style and overall quality of this painting suggest a dating from between 1770 and 1800.[9]