Portrait of Laozi
This painting depicts the Daoist philosopher Laozi seated cross-legged on a humble reed mat. The Laozi in this image is not the deified figure revered in religious Daoism, but rather the man who walked the earth prior to his deification. Wearing a simple white scholar’s robe and black hat, Laozi sits surrounded by books, an allusion to his role as royal archivist at the court of the Zhou dynasty. The artist has used tones of ochre to describe a deeply pitted face wizened with age.
The painter Yu Ming was born in Wuxing and spent much of his career in Shanghai and Beijing. Though largely aligned with traditionalist groups that advocated the continued development of classical Chinese painting, Yu was also trained in European watercolor techniques. According to the long inscription by Yu’s friend Xu Zonghao, most of which transcribes Laozi’s biography in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) by Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 86 BCE), this painting is a copy of an original image of Laozi by the great Yuan dynasty painter Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322), and as such it reflects the interest in classical Chinese paintings that animated many of Yu’s patrons in Beijing and Shanghai.
The painter Yu Ming was born in Wuxing and spent much of his career in Shanghai and Beijing. Though largely aligned with traditionalist groups that advocated the continued development of classical Chinese painting, Yu was also trained in European watercolor techniques. According to the long inscription by Yu’s friend Xu Zonghao, most of which transcribes Laozi’s biography in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) by Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 86 BCE), this painting is a copy of an original image of Laozi by the great Yuan dynasty painter Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322), and as such it reflects the interest in classical Chinese paintings that animated many of Yu’s patrons in Beijing and Shanghai.
Artwork Details
- 現代 俞明 老子像 軸
- Title: Portrait of Laozi
- Artist: Yu Ming (Chinese, 1884–1935)
- Date: Inscription dated 1923
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 52 × 13 3/8 in. (132.1 × 34 cm)
Overall with mounting: 96 × 21 7/8 in. (243.8 × 55.6 cm)
Overall with knobs: 96 × 25 1/2 in. (243.8 × 64.8 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Jack and Susy Wadsworth, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.555.1
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Yu Ming
dated 1921
Yu Ming
dated 1928
Yu Ming
early 20th century
Yu Ming
early 20th century
Yu Ming
dated 1923
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.