Portrait of Yuan artist Ni Zan

Qiu Ying Chinese
ca. 1542
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 216
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
From the twelfth century onward, scholar-officials and literati treasured bronzes of antiquity and were drawn to decorative arts that resembled such objects. Ni Zan, a renowned painter and literatus, is here portrayed in a typical scholar’s studio. He leans against an armrest with a brush and paper in his hands. Next to the couch, an exquisite table displays two bronzes, a tripod cauldron and a beaker, which have been appropriated as furnishings and expressions of literati taste.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 明 仇英 倪瓚像卷
  • Title: Portrait of Yuan artist Ni Zan
  • Artist: Qiu Ying (Chinese, ca. 1495–1552)
  • Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
  • Date: ca. 1542
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Handscroll; ink and colors on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 12 3/8 × 18 7/8 in. (31.5 × 47.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Lend by Shanghai Museum
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photograph courtesy of Shanghai Museum
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art