Gao Fenghan’s self-portrait axis

[Gao Fenghan’s self-portrait axis]

Self-portrait axis, Qing Dynasty, Gao Fenghan’s work, silk, color, 106 cm vertically and 53.4 cm horizontally
In the lower right corner of the picture, the self-title reads: “A solitary crane in the sky stands on the track of the great clouds of the sky. It is close to Juejiao and sits in the direction of the long wind. If there are a number of lunges in the sky? The title of Nancun scholar on the first day of March, Ding Wei.” The seals are “Feng” and “Han”
The self-portrait was painted in the fifth year of Yongzheng’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1727), when the author was 45 years old. In the picture, Gao Fenghan, wearing a white shirt and a bamboo hat, sits on the cliff side by side against the rock. The pines and cypresses on the cliff are strange. The waves under the cliff are surging, and the steep boulders rush out of the water. In the long air, a lone crane comes flying. The painter looks down at the water, which seems to cause infinite thoughts. At that time, Gao Fenghan was at a turning point in his official career. In, he went to Jinan Province to take an examination and be elected. The next year, he went to Beijing to take an examination and was admitted to the first class. He was distributed to Anhui Province for trial. He was not keen on official career, and was also very dissatisfied with the social situation at that time. Taking the exam to become an official might be forced by life, and his work was a reflection of his mood at that time. In the picture, the painter placed himself between the steep cliffs, the steep rocks, the turbulent rivers, and the strange ancient trees. What people feel is not the mountains and waters that the scholar-bureaucrats place on Lin Quan’s ambition, but the hardships of life and official career
The composition of this picture is novel. It intercepts a corner of the cliff from the perspective of looking up. The river is full of pictures from far to near. It is powerful and makes the scenery have a high and far-reaching potential to set off the theme. Gao Fenghan’s self-portrait is very realistic. It is reported that Gao Fenghan has long eyebrows, wide forehead, great body, and beautiful beard. He once called himself “high beard”. He once painted a painting of “The Painting of Wearing Brown”, whose figure features are similar to this one.