Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining)

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.