Der Tempelhain Makok auf der Halbinsel Macao
1858
Medium
Bleistift, Aquarell auf Papier
Dimensions
35,4 x 51,3 cm
Classification
Zeichnung
Department
Belvedere Collection
Museum
Belvedere
Credit
Belvedere, Vienna
Accession Number
2269
Art Historical Context
Joseph Selleny’s *Der Tempelhain Makok auf der Halbinsel Macao* (1858) captures a serene temple grove on the Macao Peninsula, a Portuguese enclave in China during the height of European colonial expansion. Created during the Austrian frigate Novara’s groundbreaking world expedition (1857–1859)—the first global scientific voyage sponsored by the Habsburg Empire—Selleny, an official artist aboard, documented exotic landscapes with meticulous precision. This drawing reflects mid-19th-century European fascination with the Orient, blending Romantic wanderlust with emerging ethnographic curiosity. ...