Gong Kai (1222-1307) served as a Song official and, as an army general, he helped defend against the Mongol invasion. After the defeat, he lived the rest of his life in poverty – bartering his poems and paintings for food.
Like, the bridleless horse, he is unemployed and reduced to a mere shadow of his former self. His poem reads:
‘Now that clouds and mists have descended over the heavenly pass, the twelve imperial stables have been empty. Who today cares about the thin bones. The setting sun casts his shadow on the beach like a mountain’
Original size: 29.8x56.8cms
Osaka Municipal Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka, Japan