Ding Guanpeng, Spring Festival Market in a Time of Peace | 清　丁觀鵬　太平春市圖　設色絹本　鏡框

Shiqu baoji sanbian (‘Third Supplement of Treasured Cases of the Stone Moat’), p. 58. (miscatalogued as on paper)

Ding Guanpeng (active circa 1708–1771) was one of the most highly esteemed court painters during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns. A native of Shuntian (present-day Beijing), he entered the imperial court around 1726 and served in the Ruyiguan (Studio of Wishing You Prosperity). He was particularly renowned for his figure paintings, as well as his intricate Buddhist and Daoist subjects. Working closely alongside Jesuit missionary artists such as Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining), he became highly adept at integrating Western techniques, such as linear perspective, anatomical accuracy, and chiaroscuro with traditional Chinese brushwork and mineral pigments. This innovative synthesis of East and West became a defining characteristic of the Qing imperial painting academy, earning Ding Guanpeng the profound admiration of the Qianlong Emperor, who frequently inscribed poems on his works.

This exquisitely detailed painting captures the vibrant and bustling atmosphere of a spring market during the prosperous Qianlong reign. Rendered in ink and colour on silk with meticulous brushwork depicting a lively array of figures, including scholars gathering to appreciate or trade antiquities, peddlers selling antiquities, a monkey trainer, and playful children. The scene is imbued with a sense of peace and abundance, reflecting the idealised vision of a prosperous empire under the Emperor's benevolent rule.

The present work boasts an impeccable imperial provenance, bearing seals of the Qianlong Emperor and of the Jiaqing Emperor. Most notably, it is recorded in the prestigious Qing imperial painting catalogue, Shiqu baoji sanbian ('Third Supplement of Treasured Cases of the Stone Moat'), p. 58, where the medium was miscatalogued by court officials as paper rather than silk. The painting bears the artist's signature dating the work to the autumn of the jiazi year (1744), accompanied by the seals chen Ding Guanpeng (subject Ding Guanpeng) and gong hua (respectfully painted). The impressive suite of imperial seals, including Qianlong yulan zhi bao, Shiqu baoji, Baoji sanbian, Sanxitang jingjian xi, and Jiaqing yulan.

This painting is closely related to another celebrated masterpiece by Ding Guanpeng bearing the same title, which is currently in the Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no. Guhua 00171300000). The Taipei scroll, dated to the seventh year of the Qianlong reign (1742), shares a remarkably similar thematic focus and compositional elegance. For discussions and illustrations of the Taipei painting, see Lin Lina, ed., Jinghua suichao [New Year's Days in the Capital], Taipei, 2008, p. 10; Du Shuhua, 'Taiping chunshi tu', The Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art, no. 11, February 1984, pp. 50-52; and Wu Wenbin, 'Ding Guanpeng suo hua de liang fu nianjing hua: Taiping chunshi yu Taicu shihe', The Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art, no. 35, February 1986, pp. 40-45.

出版

《石渠寶笈三編》，頁58（誤錄為紙本）

丁觀鵬（活躍於1708–1771年左右）為雍正至乾隆時期最受皇帝器重的宮廷畫家之一。丁氏乃順天（今北京）人，約於雍正四年（1726年）進入宮廷，供職於如意館。他尤擅人物畫及精細的釋道題材。在宮中，丁觀鵬與郎世寧等耶穌會傳教士畫家共事交流，深受啟發，並將西洋畫法中的焦點透視、解剖學及明暗光影技法，巧妙地融入中國傳統的筆墨與設色之中。這種中西合璧的創新畫風成為清代宮廷院畫的標誌性特色，也令丁觀鵬深得乾隆皇帝的賞識與青睞，屢屢為其畫作題詠。

本幅精妙絕倫之作生動描繪了乾隆盛世春節廟市的景象。畫作筆觸細膩入微，畫面上人物百態畢現，有商販兜售貨品，文人雅士聚首鑒賞或買賣古玩，亦有耍猴賣藝之流以及嬉戲的孩童。整幅畫作洋溢著祥和富足的氣息，折射出帝王仁政下海晏河清、太平盛世的理想圖景。

本品鈐有乾隆御璽七方及嘉慶御璽兩方。尤為珍罕者，本作著錄於清宮舊藏書畫權威著錄《石渠寶笈三編》，頁58，唯當時編纂官員筆誤，將絹本誤錄為紙本。畫作署款「乾隆九年甲子秋日，丁觀鵬恭畫」，即作於1744年，並鈐「臣丁觀鵬」、「恭畫」兩印。畫面上方鈐有「石渠寶笈」、「寶笈三編」、「乾隆御覽之寶」、「三希堂精鑒璽」、「嘉慶御覽」、「嘉慶鑒賞」等重要御璽。

本品與現藏於台北故宮博物院的另一件丁觀鵬同名名作〈清丁觀鵬太平春市圖〉（館藏編號：故畫00171300000）在題材與構圖上息息相關。台北故宮所藏之作繪於乾隆七年（1742年），兩者皆展現了極高的藝術造詣與相似的節令主題。關於台北故宮藏本的詳細探討與著錄，請參閱：林莉娜編，《京華歲朝》，台北，2008年初版一刷，頁10；杜書華，〈太平春市圖 — 附彩色長卷〉，《故宮文物月刊》，第11期，1984年2月，頁50-52；以及吳文彬，〈丁觀鵬所畫的兩幅年景畫 — 太平春市與太簇始和〉，《故宮文物月刊》，第35期，1986年2月，頁40-45。