Horse from the Western Regions, Hanging Scroll

Among Jin Nong’s surviving works, paintings of saddled horses are extremely rare. In his inscription, he wrote: “When I paint horses in the Tang style, I depict the fine breed from Dayuan in the Western Regions.” The scene shows a bearded Central Asian man with broad features and ornate attire, standing beside a pure white steed of graceful form and noble spirit. Jin Nong’s brushwork, derived from calligraphy, produces lines that are weighty and archaic. Dense, richly colored strokes depict the man, while the horse is rendered with spare, fine lines—creating a striking contrast. Like the upright bamboo or solitary plum in his other works, this proud steed reflects the artist’s own sense of unrecognized talent.

On the side borders of the mounting, modern painter Cheng Shifa and modern art historian Huang Miaozi each inscribed colophons praising the work’s vigorous, time-honoured brush style and affirming its artistic brilliance.