Portrait of a gentleman gathering chrysanthemums
The poet Tao Yuanming was a source of inspiration to many scholar-officials, who saw his decision to retire from official life as a righteous stand against ambition and blind adherence to society’s expectations. By the seventeenth century, men began to commission portraits of themselves inhabiting Tao’s role by acting out famous scenes from his poetry. This portrait is by Hua Guan, who worked in elite circles in Beijing during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The sitter, as yet unidentified, plucks chrysanthemums, Tao’s favorite flower.
Artwork Details
- 清 華冠 採菊文士圖 軸
- Title: Portrait of a gentleman gathering chrysanthemums
- Artist: Hua Guan (Chinese, ca. 1740–ca. 1822)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: dated 1791
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 81 1/8 × 38 1/8 in. (206.1 × 96.8 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Bequest, 2023
- Object Number: 2023.299
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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