This is a fine painting of Macau’s harbour view, by an unknown Chinese artist working in the 19th century. The view is said to be taken from Inner Harbour, also known as Porto Interiore, to the west of the peninsula of Macau. From the point of view the artist has contrived to include the façade of S.Paulo (on the far left), whose convent and church were destroyed by fire in 1835 and to its right is the plateau of Fort Monte. There was a great demand for views of the places the Europeans and the Americans visited. From mid-18th to 19th century, many Chinese artists executed port scenes, landscapes, and portraits based on European and American prints. A large number of these paintings existed, but few are properly documented as to artist and date, which even fewer give any clue as to what may have been their stylistic influence or how the painter might have learned to paint in a Western manner.
