When Giuseppe Castiglione set out from his native Italy for the East in the early 18th century, the missionary couldn't have known that he'd end up serving in the court of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and would become known as a court painter under his Chinese name of Lang Shining.

Castiglione, who lived for many decades in China before his death, served during the reigns of three successive Qing emperors, Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, and it was under Qianlong that he became the court's favored artist.