Artwork
清 汪恭 摹趙孟頫肖像 軸|Copy of a Portrait of Zhao Mengfu
清 汪恭 摹趙孟頫肖像 軸|Copy of a Portrait of Zhao Mengfu is an ink painting by the Qing dynasty painting artist Wang Gong. It dates from 1849 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work follows the conventions of Chinese literati portraiture, using ink to suggest scholarly refinement and silk to evoke historic court media.
The painting is a hanging scroll in ink and color on silk, produced in 1849 in China and now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It depicts a male figure identified as a copy of a portrait of the Yuan‑dynasty scholar‑painter Zhao Mengfu, making the subject a man rendered in the traditional portrait genre. The work follows the conventions of Chinese literati portraiture, using ink to suggest scholarly refinement and silk to evoke historic court media.
As a reproduction of an earlier masterpiece, the piece functions as a tribute to Zhao Mengfu’s legacy, reflecting Qing‑era admiration for Yuan cultural icons and underscoring the continuity of Confucian ideals within Chinese visual culture.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed as a hanging scroll on silk, using ink with subtle color washes, a technique documented for the work. Its medium is recorded as ink and color on silk, characteristic of Qing‑era portraiture, and the composition follows the conventional format of a single‑figure portrait. The scroll measures 63.8 cm in height by 30.8 cm in width, dating to 1849 and originating in China, as noted in the catalogue data.
Stylistically, the piece reflects the influence of Zhao Mengfu through its restrained brushwork and emphasis on anatomical detail, while the use of color accents distinguishes it from monochrome portraits of the period.
History & Provenance
The work was created in 1849 in China as a hanging scroll executed in ink and color on silk, copying a portrait of Zhao Mengfu and attributed to the artist Wang Gong (or an unidentified hand). Its early history is undocumented, but the piece entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on display. No record of its original commission survives in the available sources.
The work is classified as a portrait genre and is catalogued in the museum’s collection with the inception date of 1849.
The hanging scroll copy of Zhao Mengfu's portrait, attributed to Wang Gong and dated 1849, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Created in China using ink and color on silk, the work measures 63.8 cm in height and 30.8 cm in width. While the piece is cataloged within the museum's paintings classification, the provided records do not list a specific accession number or detail any past exhibition history for this specific object.
Overview
Created in 1849, this hanging scroll is a copy of a lost portrait of Zhao Mengfu, the renowned Yuan dynasty scholar-official, calligrapher, and painter. Executed in ink and color on silk, the work depicts the historical figure seated upon a rock, dressed in a black robe. He holds a scroll in his hands, a symbol of his literary and artistic authority.
His facial features are rendered with calm composure, characterized by a small beard and a traditional topknot. Although the artist is identified in some records as Wang Gong, the attribution remains uncertain, reflecting the common practice of Qing dynasty artists producing devotional copies of canonical masters. This 19th-century reproduction serves to preserve the visual memory of Zhao Mengfu, whose original likeness has not survived.
The composition adheres to traditional Chinese portraiture conventions, emphasizing the sitter's intellectual stature and moral character through dignified posture and minimal background distraction. As a copy, the work illustrates the enduring reverence for Zhao Mengfu within the Chinese artistic tradition and the role of replication in maintaining cultural lineage during the Qing period.
Artist & collection
