Artwork

The Empress of China Picks the First Mulberry Leaves in Honour of Silk Cultivation

The Empress of China Picks the First Mulberry Leaves in Honour of Silk Cultivation is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Bernhard Rode. It dates from 1771 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin. Created in 1771, this oil painting portrays an imperial woman in a blue robe collecting mulberry leaves on a stone platform.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1771, this oil painting portrays an imperial woman in a blue robe collecting mulberry leaves on a stone platform. She holds a basket of leaves while reaching toward a tree, surrounded by attendants amid a tranquil landscape of trees and a softly clouded sky. The work is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.

Subject & Meaning

The central figure represents a Chinese empress performing a ritual act associated with silk production. By gathering the first mulberry leaves, she symbolically honors the beginning of the silk‑cultivation cycle, linking imperial authority with the prosperity of this valuable craft.

Technique & Style

Executed in the Rococo idiom, the painting employs a muted palette and gentle illumination to convey calm elegance. Fine brushwork renders the textures of the robe, foliage, and stone platform, while the composition balances the figure with surrounding attendants and a spacious natural backdrop.

History & Provenance

The work was produced by Bernhard Rode, a Prussian painter and engraver active in the late eighteenth century. Rode, known for historical and allegorical subjects, was connected to Berlin’s Enlightenment circles. The painting entered the Gemäldegalerie Berlin’s holdings, where it remains on display.

Context

Rode’s interest in cross‑cultural themes reflects the Enlightenment fascination with exotic subjects and the exchange of knowledge about distant lands. The depiction of a Chinese empress aligns with contemporary European curiosity about Asian customs, particularly the silk trade, which was a subject of both economic and artistic interest.