The exhibition, “Auguste Borget: Travelling Painter on the South China Coast,” will be on show at the Museum of Art (MAM) between June 30 and October 9, featuring sketches, watercolors, oil paintings, prints and antique books with illustrations by the 19th century French painter, who vividly documented his experience of daily life in China.
Part of “Le French May 2016”, the exhibition will be presented by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and MAM, in collaboration with the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau and Alliance Française de Macao.
Auguste Borget (1808 – 1877) embarked on a four-year-long voyage around the world in October 1836, which took him from the Americas to the Far East. In July 1838, Borget arrived on the South China coast and spent over a year travelling in pre-British Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau, spending most of his time here.
Upon his return to France in 1840, Borget painted the famous “View of the Great Chinese Temple in Macao,” presented at a salon in Paris and acquired by French King Louis-Philippe in 1841. The following year, Borget published “Sketches of China and the Chinese,” a richly illustrated volume with lithographic renderings of the scenes and landscapes that he had captured in China.
Among Borget’s other famous works depicting Macau include an oil painting titled “Outside the A-Ma Temple, Macao,” and a watercolor and pencil piece called, “Food Stalls in front of St. Dominic’s Church.”
According to a press release from MAM, the works by Borget offer a unique view of the Pearl River Delta in the mid-19th century, and a glimpse of its folk customs and culture. According to the statement, it “is a remarkable part of the rich legacy of Sino-Western cultural exchange.”
The exhibition will be held in the Gallery of Special Exhibitions at MAM, open to the public between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day except Monday. Admission is MOP5 or free on Sundays and public holidays.
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