Ren Xiong’s self-portrait axis

[Ren Xiong Self-portrait Axis]

Self-portrait axis, Qing Dynasty, Ren Xiong painting, paper edition, color setting, 177.4 cm vertically and 78.5 cm horizontally
On the left side of the picture, the running script is titled “The Twelfth Hour”, and the signature is: “Wei Chang Ren Xiong leans on the sound.” The seal is “Ren Xiong’s seal”, the white seal, and the “Xiangpu painting”, the Zhu seal
This painting has no model year. According to the portrait, Ren Xiong should be in his 30s. At this time, it was the time of great social unrest. In the face of the increasing corruption of the Qing Dynasty, the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement and the invasion of foreign powers, the painter showed his meditation in his self-portrait. The dress with bare right shoulder and slovenness looks like a brave man in the green forest, without any portrait style of a scholar sitting upright or wandering in the forest. The pattern lines in this picture, like silver hooks and iron paintings, not only match the heroine’s image of perseverance and bravery, but also reflect his inner masculinity and enhance the appeal of the painting.