China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911) / 1715
Portrait of An Qi
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Portrait of An Qi as painting (China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911) · 1715).
Seven of An Qi's close friends wrote poetic inscriptions on the silk brocade mount around his portrait.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as hanging scroll; ink and color on paper and credits Wang Hui (Chinese, 1632–1717).
The museum's collection notes: An Qi, the subject of the portrait, was a second-generation salt merchant from Korea. He used part of his wealth to collect art. At the time this painting was commissioned, An was less than 40 years old. He is represented as a Daoist recluse in nature, informally dressed with attributes such as books and a wrapped guqin instrument, a portrait convention for literati-scholars since the Six Dynasties period (220–589 CE). The local Taihu rock, banana plants, and crane suggest a southern garden and a life in seclusion. An’s portrait is evidence of merchants aspiring to the scholar-official class. According to the inscription, this painting was th
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The Cleveland Museum of ArtPortrait of An QiOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.