Shen Zhen Agui Statue Axis

[Shen Zhen Agui Statue Axis]

Agui Statue Axis, Qing Dynasty, Shen Zhen painting, silk version, color setting, vertical 162.2 cm, horizontal 109.1 cm
The author’s signature of this painting is “Chen Shen Zhen Gong’s painting”, with the seal of “Chen Shen Zhen” Zhu Wenfang and “Gong Hua” Bai Wenfang. Ink title: “Grand Priest of Purple Pavilion”. The seal of Jiancang is “the treasure of Xianfeng imperial tour” and “the treasure of Xuantong imperial tour”
The original title of the picture is “The portrait of A Gui, the first class of a college student, who is sincere and brave.”. In the early summer of the 42nd year of Qianlong’s reign (1777), Emperor Qianlong held a banquet at Ziguangge in Xiyuan to honor the meritorious personnel such as Agui who pacified Jinchuan, and presented them with rewards. For the authors of the military exploits, the court painter Lang Shining and others were also asked to paint portraits for them. After the painting was completed, Emperor Qianlong personally wrote a tribute for 50 people, including Dingxi General A Gui, who commanded the battle, and hung their portraits in the Ziguang Pavilion to show their martial arts. This picture is a copy drawn by Shen Zhen, a court painter of the Guangxu Dynasty, based on the portrait of A Gui in the Ziguang Pavilion. The author uses fine brushwork, accurate modeling, and both form and spirit to portray Agui as a general who is both elegant and wise, but also brave and tenacious
Agui (1717-1797), Zhang Jiashi, with the name of Guangting, is a Manchurian Zhengbai Banner. In the 38th year of Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1773), he was appointed General Dingxi, and led Fengshenghe, Mingliang and other officers and soldiers to put an end to the Jinchuan Rebellion. After that, he was ordered to compile the “General Plan for the pacification of the two Jinchuan” (136 volumes), which provides detailed and rich historical data for understanding the causes, processes and results of the two military engagements in Jinchuan during the Qianlong Dynasty.