Portrait of Ge Qiansun (Ko Ch'ien-sun), Physician

Accession Number
2002/1.232.2

Title
Portrait of Ge Qiansun (Ko Ch'ien-sun), Physician

Artist(s)
Xie Bin

Object Creation Date
circa 1660-1680

Medium & Support
album leaf, ink on paper

Dimensions
17 3/16 x 21 15/16 in. (43.6 x 55.6 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of David L. Chambers and John G. Crane

Label copy
Xie Bin excelled in portraits and was renowned for his ability to capture a likeness with only a few brushstrokes. He was a student of Zeng Jing (1564–1657), who created the portrait of Pan Qintai also exhibited in this gallery. The protagonist of this painting, Ge Qiansun, was a Yuandynasty (1271–1368) physician from Changzhou. Ge’s father and grandfather were both well known doctors. The inscription accompanying the portrait is taken from a Ming dynasty (1644-1912) source that describes Ge Qiansun as tall and strong; this is how he is presented here. It also says that Ge was originally absorbed in the practice of martial arts and later became interested in yin-yang philosophy, astrology, and physiognomy; he could not pass the civil service examination, so his father taught him medicine. The rest of the paragraph recounts anecdotes about Ge Qiansun curing strange diseases.
Spring/Summer Gallery Rotation 2015

Subject matter
Portrait of Ge Qiansun, a phsician in the Yuan dynasty. The text describes Ge's physical appearance and tells of how he was originally a practitioner of martial arts and later became interested in philosophy, astrology, and physiognomy. The rest of the text describes Ge curing strang diseases.

Physical Description
Album leaf in black ink. Left page contains script. Right page depicts a man with a beard and mustache dressed in long robes with his hands pressed together. On his head is a black wrap. A line of writing is also located in the upper right side of the portrait.

Primary Object Classification
Unbound Work

Primary Object Type
leaf

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Figures
Portraits
calligraphy
males

2 Related Resources

Ink and Realisms
(Part of: Artist Associations and Art Movements)
Work and Workers
(Part of 9 Learning Collections)

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted