Ignatius Sichelbart

Ignatius Sichelbart also Sickelbart, Sickelpart; Chinese 艾啟蒙 / 艾启蒙 Ài Qǐměng or Ai Ch'i-meng; (September 26, 1708 Nejdek – October 6, 1780 Beijing), was a German-Bohemian Jesuit missionary and painter.

After his novitiate in Brno and the study of theology in Olomouc, Sichelbart was assigned as the missionary to China's Provincial Government in 1745.

He was joined on the mission by two other painters Giuseppe Castiglione and Jean Denis Attiret.

Together while in China, the artists combined their European techniques with traditional Chinese painting to create new styles.

As a reward for his service and work, he was promoted to director of the Imperial Painting Academy and court painter to the Emperor.

The Submission of the Ili drawn by Ignatius Sichelbart, 1764
The Submission of the Ili engraved by Benoît-Louis Prévost , 1769, after the painting by Ignatius Sichelbart
Uyghur General Khojis (–1781), governor of Us-Turfan , who later settled in Beijing. Painting by a European Jesuit artist Ignatius Sichelbart at the Chinese court in 1775. [ 1 ]