Grooms and Horses dated 1296 and 1359 Zhao Mengfu Chinese In the early Yuan period, when the ruling Mongols curtailed the employment of Chinese scholar-officials, the theme of the groom and horse-one associated with the legendary figure of Bole, whose ability to judge horses had become a metaphor for the recruitment of able government officials-became a symbolic plea for the proper use of scholarly talent. Zhao Mengfu painted this work for the high-ranking Surveillance Commissioner Feiqing, who may have been a government recruiter. Executed in early 1296, shortly after Zhao withdrew from civil

Grooms and Horses dated 1296 and 1359 Zhao Mengfu Chinese In the early Yuan period, when the ruling Mongols curtailed the employment of Chinese scholar-officials, the theme of the groom and horse-one associated with the legendary figure of Bole, whose ability to judge horses had become a metaphor for the recruitment of able government officials-became a symbolic plea for the proper use of scholarly talent. Zhao Mengfu painted this work for the high-ranking Surveillance Commissioner Feiqing, who may have been a government recruiter. Executed in early 1296, shortly after Zhao withdrew from civil service, the sensitively rendered groom may be a striking geometry of the composition, made up of a series of prominent arcs in the figures of the horse and groom, and framed by the level ground line and vertical inscription, appears to have been constructed with a compass and square. The Chinese term "compass-square" (guiju) means "regulation" or "order." Thus, the painting may also be read as a metaphor for good government and, by extension, a measure of the artist's moral rectitude. Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story Listen Play or pause #7337. Man and Horse, Part 1 Play or pause #7337. Man and Horse, Part 2 Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies We're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. We are working to make it available as soon as Grooms and Horses. Zhao Mengfu (Chinese, 1254–1322). China. dated 1296 and 1359. Handscroll; ink and color on paper. Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Paintings

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