“The Dream of Yang Guifei” by Edward Luper

There are several sources of inspiration for this metal plate etching. Firstly, it alludes to the extremely plump concubine Yang Guifei (719-756) who lived during the golden age of Chinese history - the Tang dynasty (618-907). In a time when fat was considered beautiful (note Tang dynasty pottery models of ladies, which were used as models for this drawing) it was said her voluptuous figure first attracted the Emperor’s attention when she was bathing in the Huaqing pools. In Bai Juyi’s (772-846) poem ‘Song of Everlasting Regret’:

The waters of the hot springs were smooth, and washed over her pale white skin (though less poetic in English, the original term used was ‘skin like congealed fat’ 凝脂)

The palace maids helped her to leave the pool, because she was too delicate and lacked strength.

This was when she began to receive the emperor's advances.

The Emperor became so infatuated with her, that it sparked a rebellion as he neglected affairs of state. While escaping the rebels through mountainous roads, the Emperor’s own bodyguard however, forced the Emperor to order the plump concubine - the source of the rebellion, they believed - to be put to death. The Emperor had no choice. It was said he often dreamed of her afterwards. This scene is frequently depicted in Chinese art and porcelain, and the blue tones allude to Chinese porcelain. The dream of Yang Guifei dancing for the Emperor however, comes from a modern voluptuous beauty in her own ‘Huaqing pool’. The dream will be interrupted soon though, by a cat knocking a glass off a table; a further reference to the ups and downs of life.

In this picture, I wanted a historical parody to celebrate the fuller figure; when a chubby concubine almost brought the most powerful empire to its knees with her beauty.

Both etching and words by Edward Luper | edward.luper.art