Portrait of a Man
19th century
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
39 1/2 x 23 1/2 in. (100.3 x 59.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
China · Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Katherine S. Dreier, 1952
Accession Number
52.177.8
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of Qing dynasty portraiture with *Portrait of a Man* Jiang Yun, a masterful 19th-century hanging scroll painted in ink and color on paper Measuring an impressive 39½ x 23½ inches, this work captures the elegance of late imperial China, where such scrolls were unrolled for ceremonial display in homes or ancestral halls, evoking the subject's presence and prestige. Jiang Yun's technique exemplifies traditional Chinese gongbi style—meticulous and vibrant—blending fine ink lines with subtle colors to convey not just physical likeness but the inner spirit, or *shen*, of...