![]() ![]() This paper explores the circulation and meanings of the images that make up the painting as well as its life over time, from its pre-formation in nineteenth-century court albums to contemporary popular use of its visual material. In fact, the painting is a composite, largely pieced together from images of performers produced for albums at the court in the late Qing. Typically, it is appreciated as a kind of “snapshot” of the early history of Peking opera. The work features collective portraits of the most renowned actors of late Qing Beijing. Title: “A Visual and Material History of the Thirteen Stars of Peking Opera”Ībstract: Shen Rongpu’s 沈蓉圃 late nineteenth-century painting, Thirteen Stars of the Tongzhi and Guangxu Reigns ( Tongguang shisan jue 同光十三角), has become visual synecdoche for Peking opera, gracing book jackets of contemporary studies of Chinese opera, reproduced on walls of theaters and museums, and repackaged as opera-themed tchotkes.
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