Zeng Jing and Ge Zhenfu

[The volume of Zeng Jing’s portrait of Ge Zhenfu]

The volume of the portrait of Ge Zhenfu, Ming Dynasty, Zeng Jing’s painting, paper edition, color setting, 32.5 cm in length and 77.5 cm in width
This volume was written by Zeng Jing, a famous portrait painter of the Ming Dynasty, for Ge Yilong, a scholar. The figure in the picture leans against the letter and sits obliquely, with black scarf and long beard, white robe and red shoes, with a clear mind and a Confucian demeanor
There is no style in this picture, and there are two white seals on the lower left of the figure: “Zeng Jing’s seal” and “Bo Chen’s father”. There are four questions of Ming Mi Wanzhong, Fan Jingwen, Zhou Zhigang, and Wang Siren, with two seals each. Because the upper part of this picture is slightly incomplete, the inscription is not complete
The ink beard of the figure in the picture is like wisps, and the pen is very delicate. The face is painted in light ink, and then stained with ochre and other colors at the nose depression and cheeks layer by layer, showing concave-convex layers, with a three-dimensional effect. The characters’ eyes are as bright as ink, and the delicate description of facial wrinkles and eye bags appropriately reflects the age characteristics of Ge Shi at that time. The painting method of the figure’s clothing pattern is relatively simple. A few lines are painted with light white powder, which shows that the clothes are undressed and the sleeves are large. In the setting of the scenery, in order to more fit the identity characteristics of the protagonist, the painter made him sit against the book without any other scenery, and inadvertently revealed the elegant and noble character characteristics of the protagonist. A bit of red shoes are exposed, which plays a role in enriching the color of the picture. The figure in the picture only accounts for about a quarter of the picture, which is a relatively common form in Zeng Jing’s portrait. Because he has a wide range of friends, many of the characters in his painting are scholars and scholars, so we must leave a large space for identification. This picture is an example
This picture is Zeng Jing’s representative work. Its conceptual composition and painting techniques are of high level. From the image of Ge Shi in the middle and late years of the picture, its creation time should be roughly in Chongzhen, which is the peak period of Zeng Jing’s artistic creation.