Emaciated Horse by Gong Kai – ink on paper handscroll, 29.9 x 56.9 cm. After Mongol Kublai Khan, leading the Yuan Dynasty, conquered the Southern Song Dynasty of China in 1279, Gong Kai remained a Song loyalist and refused to serve Kublai’s government. This painting of an emaciated horse represents his own poverty-stricken conditions that he imposed on himself since he refused to serve as a government official.
