Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) was an
Italian missionary, architect and artist, and came to China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
He joined the Society of Jesus in 1707 and
arrived in Macao 8 years later.
Soon he came to Beijing to
assist the missionary work. He acted as the imperial artist in the reign of
three emperors: Kang Xi, Yong Zheng and Qian Long. During that time, he
gradually absorbed the style of Chinese traditional arts and finished several
famous works.
Due to his influence, the Chinese artists
wrote the first book on the scenography of western painting. Besides, he drew
several oil paintings for the Catholic churches. In 1766, he died in
Beijing.