Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Zhao Yong
Yuan painter and calligrapher, son of Zhao Mengfu, who served as a prefect and Jixian academician and painted horses, riders and landscapes
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Zi Zhongmu
Zhao Yong, courtesy name Zhongmu, came from Wuxing in Huzhou and was a son of Zhao Mengfu and Guan Daosheng. In 1327 his father's standing earned him the post of prefect of Changguo, later of Haining, and he rose to academician-in-waiting of the Jixian Academy and associate administrator of Huzhou circuit. He carried on the family arts, writing seal, clerical, regular, running and cursive scripts, painting landscapes after Dong Yuan, and painting horses with riders as well as orchids and bamboo. Surviving scrolls include Steeds, Riding in the Spring Suburbs and Gathering Water Chestnuts, and a single volume of his writings, Zhao Daizhi yigao, is extant.
Life and times
Dates Dates disputed (c. 1289–1369, or 1291–1361); in office from 1327