William Alexander/威廉·亚历山大


名称: View of the Lake Pao-Ying where it is separated from the Grand Canal by an Embankment of Earth《扬州宝应湖与大运河堤岸景观》 
类别: Hand-coloured British copperplate engraving/英国铜版雕刻手工上色 
艺术家: William Alexander 
版画家: William Ellis & Elizabeth Ellis
日期: 1796 
尺寸: 40x55cm 
Printed by: Pall Mall, London
Published by: George Nicol on April 12, 1796

Ellis 夫妇(William Ellis 与 Elizabeth Ellis)是十八世纪末英国重要的版画雕刻家组合,以署名 “W. & E. Ellis” 活跃于伦敦。他们以精湛的铜版雕刻与蚀刻技法闻名,尤其在将旅行画师速写转化为高品质出版版画方面成就突出。1790年代,他们与出版商 George Nicol 合作,负责刻制 William Alexander 随马戛尔尼使团绘制的中国题材速写,使这些写生得以于 1796 年出版并广泛传播,成为欧洲了解清代中国景观和社会的重要视觉资料。Ellis 夫妇的作品注重线条的清晰与层次的微妙变化,既忠实再现原画的细节,又赋予画面雕刻特有的韵味。他们的版画现今被大英博物馆、维多利亚与阿尔伯特博物馆等重要机构收藏,不仅见证了十八世纪中英文化交流,也体现了英国铜版雕刻艺术的高水准。


名称: View of the Lake Pao-Ying where it is separated from the Grand Canal by an Embankment of Earth《扬州宝应湖与大运河堤岸景观》
类别: British copperplate engraving/英国铜版雕刻
艺术家: William Alexander
版画家: William Ellis & Elizabeth Ellis
日期: 1794
尺寸: 40x55cm Printed by: Pall Mall, London Published by: George Nicol on April 12, 1796
Sujet : 30.4 x 47 cm Cuvette : 35.9 x 50.5 cm Feuille : 41 x 54.4 cm
Printed by: William Byrne (1743-1805)
Published by: G. Nicol (London)



名称: View of the Great Wall of Chinacalled Van-Lee-Tching or Wall of teh thousand Lee taken near the passof Cou-Pe-Koo《长城——古北口附近》
类别: British copperplate engraving/英国铜版雕刻
艺术家: William Alexander
版画家: Thomas Medland (1765-1833)
日期: 1794
尺寸: 40x54.3cm
Engraved by Thomas Medland (1765-1833)
Published by: George Nicol on April 12, 1796
Subject: 30.2 x45.2 cm. Plate : 36.6x 50.5 cm. Sheet : 40,6x 54.3 cm
Printed by: William Byrne (1743-1805)



名称: A view in the Gardens of the Imperial Palace in Pekin 《北京故宫花园景色》
类别: British copperplate engraving/英国铜版雕刻
艺术家: William Alexander
版画家: JohnThomas Smith (1766-1833)
日期: 1794
尺寸: 40.3x52cm Printed by: Pall Mall, London Published by: George Nicol on April 12, 1796
Subject: 23.8 x 35.4 cm. Plate : 29.4 x 39.4 cm. Sheet : 40.3 x 52 cm
Engraved by JohnThomas Smith (1766-1833)
Published by: G. Nicol (London)


名称: A view near the City of Lin-Tsin on the banks of the Grand Canal《大运河畔临清城附近一景》 类别: Hand-coloured British copperplate engraving/英国铜版雕刻 艺术家: William Alexander 版画家: William Byrne (1743-1805) 日期: April 12, 1796 Subject: 28.5 x44 cm. Plate : 33.7x 47.9 cm. Sheet : 40.5x 54.3 cm
Engraved by William Byrne (1743-1805)
Published by: G. Nicol (London) . The Macartney Embassy was the first official British diplomatic mission to China, led by George Macartney (1737–1806), which arrived in Beijing in 1792 with the aim of establishing trade relations and expanding Britain’s economic influence in China. The embassy included diplomats, clerks, scientists, and artists, among whom was the painter William Alexander, responsible for recording landscapes, cities, architecture, and local customs along the journey. The mission carried a large number of gifts, presented to the Qianlong Emperor according to Qing court protocol; however, due to differences in understanding of the tribute system and diplomatic etiquette between Britain and China, the embassy did not achieve a formal trade agreement. Despite the political objectives not being fully realized, the cultural, scientific, and artistic outcomes of the mission were highly significant. During the visit, William Alexander produced numerous on-the-spot sketches, including A Pai-Lou, or Triumphal Arch, depicting the archway in front of a city gate in Ningbo, Zhejiang, capturing details of Chinese urban architecture and social life. This work was later engraved in copperplate and hand-coloured, and published in 1805 by William Miller in London in The Costume of China, illustrated in forty-eight coloured engravings, providing European audiences with vivid and direct visual documentation of China and serving as an important reference for the study of Sino-Western exchange and 18th-century Chinese urban and cultural landscapes. 马戛尔尼使团是英国历史上第一次正式派往中国的外交使团,由乔治·马戛尔尼(George Macartney, 1737–1806)率领,于 1792 年抵达清朝北京,旨在建立贸易关系并扩大英国在华经济影响。使团成员包括外交官、随行文书、科学家和艺术家,其中就有画师 William Alexander,他负责记录沿途景观、城市、建筑及民俗风情。使团携带大量礼品,按照清廷礼仪呈献给乾隆皇帝,但因中英双方对朝贡体系和外交礼节理解差异,使团未能达成正式贸易协议。尽管政治目标未完全实现,使团的文化、科学和艺术成果却极为丰富。William Alexander 在此次访问中完成了大量速写,其中《A Pai-Lou, or Triumphal Arch》描绘了浙江宁波城门前的牌楼景象,呈现了中国城市建筑和社会生活的细节。此作品后经铜版雕刻、手工上色,收入 1805 年由 William Miller 在伦敦出版的《The Costume of China, illustrated in forty-eight coloured engravings》中,为欧洲读者提供了生动、直观的中国视觉资料,也成为研究中西交流史和18世纪中国风貌的重要文献。 以上铜版雕刻版画均被以下博物馆和机构收藏:British Museum(大英博物馆),Victoria and Albert Museum(维多利亚与阿尔伯特博物馆),Royal Collection Trust(英国皇家收藏),British Library(大英图书馆),Yale Center for British Art(耶鲁英国艺术中心),Library of Congress(美国国会图书馆)>>返回>>