Among the gifts sent by Louis XIV to the Emperor Kangxi more than 300 years ago were prints made from copper engravings. Wang Jie with the Shanghai Daily reports on a similar collection sent by the French government on display in Shanghai.

What happens when art and applied technology meet? Find out the answer at the exhibition that is currently running in the Shanghai Art Museum which is entitled "The Chalcography of the Louvre Museum -- Four Centuries of Prints in France."

The Shanghai exhibition is the result of a joint effort by the Louvre Museum of Paris and the Reunion des Musees Nationaux. It will give local art lovers the opportunity to discover the techniques involved in the art of etching on copper plates which developed and rapidly expanded in Europe during the reign of Louis XIV, the "Sun King."

Emperor Kangxi (who reigned from 1661 to 1722) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) may have been the first Chinese to appreciate the new and specialized art form.

In 1687, Louis XIV sent Jesuit missionaries to Emperor Kangxi's court in Beijing. They brought prints from "The King's Cabinet" depicting scenes from Louis XIV's reign and Emperor Kangxi was delighted by the clarity and precision obtained through the process of copper engraving. At that time, Chinese artists excelled in wood engraving.

As part of "The Year of France in China," the Louvre Museum and the Reunion des Musees Nationaux have brought nearly 200 prints and engraved copper plates to Shanghai illustrating the wealth and range of the Louvre Museum's chalcographic collection.

The word "chalcography" means "writing on copper" in Greek and requires a long series of operations in which the artist's final etchings on the surface of the copper plate will become ink receptacles for printing.

Although other sections of the Louvre Museum are famous around the world, its collection of copper plates is less well-known. The collection was created and added to by the kings of France from 1667 to 1789 when it was seized during the French Revolution. Napoleon I later entrusted the collection to the Louvre Museum.

Thanks to government-funded acquisitions, the chalcography section of the Louvre Museum now has more than 13,000 copper plates.

"Perhaps this exhibition will reflect at least part of the riches of the collection," says Li Lei, curator of the Shanghai Art Museum.

Date: through October 16, 9am-5pm

Address: 325 Nanjing Rd W.

Admission: 20 yuan

Tel: 021-63272829

(Shanghai Daily September 30, 2005)