At the Royal Academy
Craig Clunas: Art of the Emperors, 1 December 2005
“... portraits of rulers which were the stock-in-trade of court artists in Europe from Velásquez to David. As the near pristine condition of many of them implies, portraits of the Qing imperial court were not designed for permanent hanging (they are watercolours).At what events were they originally viewed, and by whom? The imperial image was not disseminated to ... ”