名称: Dinner Party at a Mandarin's House/《家中的晚宴》
类别: Hand-coloured British steel engraving/英国铜版画手工上色(英国钢版蚀刻画)
艺术家: Thomas Allom/阿罗姆绘制素描稿
版画家: George Paterson/乔治·帕特森刻制版画
日期: 1843
尺寸: 12×19cm

备注：此铜版画出自托马斯·阿罗姆（Thomas Allom）编辑的《中国题材插图系列》（China, in a Series of Views, 1843）。该系列首次于1843年由伦敦和巴黎的 Fisher, Son & Co. 联合出版发行。

乔治·帕特森（George Paterson）19世纪英国著名的建筑师和版画家，出生与死亡日期不详。活跃于中叶维多利亚时期（1830-1849）。他曾与画家托马斯·阿洛姆（Thomas Allom）合作，为其《中国系列》制作精细的钢版雕刻，如《Dinner Party at a Mandarin’s House》等。乔治擅长将绘画稿转化为层次丰富、线条细腻的版画，既保留建筑与人物细节，又体现19世纪英国版画的艺术风格。



名称: Gardens of the Imperial Palace, Peking/北京皇宫御花园
类别: British steel engraving/英国铜版钢刻画(英国钢版蚀刻画)
艺术家: Thomas Allom/阿罗姆绘制素描稿
版画家: James Baylis Allen/詹姆斯·贝利斯·艾伦雕刻
日期: 1845
尺寸: 26.7×20.8cm


Thomas Allom (1804-1872) was a prominent 19th-century British architect, painter, and print illustrator. He trained in architecture in London and became one of the founding members of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1826. During his career, he designed numerous churches, residences, and public buildings in the typical Victorian style. However, he is best remembered as a travel artist and illustrator.

Allom excelled in landscape and architectural painting, often published through steel engravings. He traveled across Europe, the Middle East, and Turkey, documenting local scenery and culture through his drawings. Collaborating with writer George Newenham Wright, he produced several illustrated travel books, most notably China, in a Series of Views (1843), which systematically introduced China’s landscapes, cities, architecture, and social life to European audiences for the first time.

Allom’s Chinese-themed prints are detailed and rich in exotic charm, reflecting both 19th-century European imagination of the East and important visual historical records. His dual role as architect and artist allowed him to combine precise architectural perspective with a romantic painting style, creating a distinctive artistic approach. Allom passed away in 1872, and his works remain widely collected in museums and libraries, regarded as key visual resources for studying 19th-century European perceptions of China.

Thomas Allom, particularly in his China-themed series, created works by drawing on the visual records of earlier artists rather than simply copying them. He referenced early European travelers and painters, such as Johannes Nieuhof (1618-1672), whose An Embassy from the East-India Company to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperor of China provided copperplate illustrations of 17th-century Chinese cities, architecture, and customs; and William Alexander (1767-1817), whose sketches and prints of Ningbo, Guangzhou, and other locations offered 19th-century European audiences a visual reference for understanding China. These predecessors’ works primarily supplied foundational information on architectural layouts, clothing, and social scenes, helping Allom grasp the Chinese environment and cultural elements. On this basis, Allom incorporated his own artistic vision, using light and shadow, figure placement, and scene composition to reimagine the subjects. The result preserves historical features while conveying the romanticized European aesthetic of the 19th century. 

托马斯·阿洛姆（Thomas Allom，1804-1872） 是19世纪英国著名的建筑师和版画家。他早年在伦敦接受建筑训练，1826年成为皇家建筑师协会（RIBA）的创始会员之一，职业生涯中设计过多座教堂、住宅与公共建筑，具有典型的维多利亚时期风格。然而，他更为后世所熟知的身份是旅行画家与插图作者。

阿洛姆擅长风景与建筑绘画，作品常通过钢版雕刻（steel engraving）形式发表。他曾游历欧洲、中东及土耳其，并以绘画记录当地风光与人文。他与作家乔治·纽纳姆·赖特（George Newenham Wright）合作，出版了多部以插图为主的旅行画册，其中最著名的是《China, in a Series of Views》（1843），首次以系统图像向欧洲展示中国的山川、城市、建筑与社会生活。

参与《China Illustrated-1843》主要雕刻家：
Edward Finden (常见署名E. Finden sc.) 著名英国铜版与钢版雕刻家，风景画雕刻专家，参与大量旅行插图出版。
Henry Adlard (常见署名H. Adlard sc. )活跃于19世纪中期，擅长建筑与风景题材的精细雕刻。
James Baylis Allen (常见署名J. B. Allen sc.) 以细致的风景与建筑雕刻著称，参与多部重要图集制作。
James Sands (常见署名J. Sands sc.) 主要负责风景和建筑版画雕刻，常与 Allom 合作。
W. Floyd (常见署名W. Floyd sc). 常见于中东和中国主题插图雕刻。
S. Bradshaw (常见署名S. Bradshaw sc.) 参与若干城市景观与建筑版画的雕刻工作。

阿洛姆的中国题材版画细致而富于异国情调，既体现了19世纪欧洲对东方的想象，也保留了重要的视觉史料价值。作为建筑师与艺术家的双重身份，他将严谨的建筑透视与浪漫的绘画风格结合，形成独特的艺术特色。阿洛姆于1872年去世，作品至今仍广泛收藏于博物馆与图书馆中，被视为研究19世纪欧洲对中国认知的重要图像资料来源。

托马斯·阿洛姆（Thomas Allom）在创作作品时，尤其是其中国题材系列，是在借鉴前辈艺术家作品的基础上进行再创作，而非简单复制。他参考了早期欧洲旅行家和画家的视觉资料，如 Johannes Nieuhof（1618-1672） 的《东印度公司使团访清记》，提供了17世纪中国城市、建筑和民俗的铜版画参考；以及 William Alexander（1767-1817） 在宁波、广州等地的速写与版画，为19世纪欧洲观众理解中国提供了视觉范本。这些前辈作品主要提供建筑布局、服饰和社会场景的基础信息，帮助阿洛姆理解中国环境与文化元素。在此基础上，阿洛姆融入个人艺术视角，通过光影处理、人物布局和场景构图的再创作，既保留历史特征，又展现19世纪欧洲艺术的浪漫想象。

托马斯·阿罗姆（Thomas Allom）的作品由温菲尔德·罗宾斯（Winfield Robbins）后人捐赠，对此我们深表感谢。这些藏品延续了罗宾斯一生的艺术追求与文化远见，为历史、艺术及视觉文化研究提供了宝贵资源，也为公众与学术界带来了难得的学习和欣赏机会。>>返回>>