Empress Dowager Cixi 慈禧太后
Empress Dowager Cixi was the mastermind behind China’s delegation to the 1904 World’s Fair.
As the de facto ruler of China, Cixi had a complicated relationship with the West: after she declared war against eleven foreign powers during the Boxer Uprising, her reputation overseas plummeted. Western media vilified her as a ruthless dictator, with cruel slanted eyes and a stretched face.
In the aftermath of the uprising and foreign invasion, Cixi found the perfect opportunity with the 1904 World’s Fair to redeem her image. She sent young Prince Pu Lun, along with a team of highly educated Chinese envoys, on a diplomatic tour across the U.S. and to St. Louis.
Biography
Born: 1835, Beijing
Died: 1908, Beijing
Joined the royal court as a concubine of Emperor Xianfeng, 1851.
Became Empress Dowager when her five-year-old son was made Emperor Tongzhi, 1861.
Secured position through two coup d’états: in 1861 to eliminate the eight regent officials, and in 1898 by imprisoning her nephew Emperor Guangxu.
Painting Cixi
Cixi invited Katherine Karl, an American artist, to the Forbidden City in China to create oil portraits as a gift to the World’s Fair. This was a grand gesture of Cixi, who always had a hard grip over the distribution of her images. To show her dedication to improving relations with foreign powers, Cixi let go of her control and publicized her image to a distinct Western audience.
At nearly 10 feet tall and over 5 feet wide, the display was imposing. Viewers had to physically look up to scrutinize her features. Notably, the portrait was displayed in the Palace of Fine Arts (today the St. Louis Art Museum building), not in the Chinese Pavilion.
Carl’s artistic freedom was controlled as Cixi oversaw every detail of the portraits. For example, there is no shading on Cixi's face, and she has an idealized and wrinkle-free face.
“The Empress Dowager, Tze Hsi [Cixi] of China.”
In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Clark M’Adams wrote of Cixi’s portrait, “There she sat, not the terrible Tartar we thought she to be, but the nicest old Chinese grandmother you ever saw in your life, with big, alert and gentle eyes, without a hard feature upon her face, and with her lips full of lullabies for little grandchildren.” (15 June 1904)
Katharine [Kate] Carl, “the author in Chinese costume."
Artist Katharine Carl was introduced to Cixi by Edwin Conger, the U.S. Minister to China. Carl spent nine months in the Forbidden City, the only foreigner to ever live in the Beijing imperial court during its last days.
From China to St. Louis
In January 1904, artist Katharine Carl wrote to Halsey Ives, Chief of the Department of Art at the World’s Fair. She noted that it was important for the portrait to receive a “proper reception” once it arrived in St. Louis, both as a sign of respect for the Empress Dowager and for positive international relations.
Painting being shipped to St. Louis
The portrait was cared for with significance, with a travel team specifically dedicated to the artwork.
Portrait on display in the Palace of Fine Art
Prince Pu Lun, Vice Commissioner Wong Kai Kah, and Fair President David R. Francis were all present to celebrate the arrival of the portrait at the Palace of Fine Arts on June 19, 1904.
Picturing the Empress
Empress Dowager Cixi, 1903
Not many photographs were taken of Cixi. Even though she is in the same pose as her oil portraits, here Cixi appears to be older and frail. She is still highly decorated with auspicious symbols, pearls, and an elaborate background to amplify her royal femininity.
Cover image, Le Rire: Journal Humoristique. July 14, 1900
This French magazine caricature of Empress Dowager Cixi is one of the many demeaning caricatures created in the West during the Boxer Uprising, reinforcing the "Oriental Other" stereotypes of Chinese people.
Cixi's Birthday
Held at the Chinese Pavilion, over 800 dignitaries and members of St. Louis society were invited to a celebration in honor of Cixi’s 70th birthday. While not attending herself, Cixi’s portrait in the Palace of Fine Art was “draped with decorations fitting the occasion.”
Chinese Empress Dowager’s 70th Birthday Reception, November 16, 1904
Pictured in this birthday photograph are artist Katherine Carl and her brother Francis Carl (second row, center) with Madame Wong, Mrs. Jane Francis, and Wong Kai Kah (first row).