Zhang Qiyuan Letter Axis

[Zhang Qi’s round letter portrait axis]

The round letter portrait axis, the 16th year of Chongzhen’s reign in the Ming Dynasty (1643), was painted by Zhang Qi, printed on silk, colored, 129.7 cm vertically and 78.8 cm horizontally
This picture depicts a monk sitting with a round letter. In the middle of the left side of this picture, the inscription reads: “On the winter day of Guiwei, the embroidery disciple Zhang Qijing wrote.” The seal of Zhang Qi and the seal of Yu Ke are stamped on the bottom. In the Shangshitang, there is a picture of Yuanxin’s self-praise, which reads: “On the eighth day of Guiwei’s winter, self-praise, Xitang, Xingshan, Jingshan, seventy-three green lion Weng notes.” The painting is the same year as the title. According to the research, Guiwei should be the 16th year of Chongzhen’s reign of the Ming Dynasty (1643)
The picture shows the statue of Master Yuanxin when he was 73 years old. The master was dressed in ochre monk’s clothing, wearing red cassocks, holding the dust in his right hand, and his left hand was naturally placed on his abdomen and sitting on the chair. With hair and moustache, she has a beautiful appearance, clear facial contour, strong concave-convex feeling, and is rendered with color and ink, with almost no trace of lines, which is extremely vivid. In the works of Zeng Jing, the founder of the “Bochen School”, he generally only pays attention to the subtle depiction of the faces of the characters. In this Bochen School painter’s work, the costumes and props are all very fine, which shows Zhang Qi’s profound skill in painting.