Horse-Riding along the River (handscroll)

Zhao Yong was born in Huzhou, second son of Zhao Mengfu. He was also known by his courtesy name Zhongmu. Zhao Yong was a standby consultant (daizhi) at the Institute of Scholars (jixianyuan), a governmental department responsible for collecting and organizing classic works. He later became the First-class Sub-Prefect of Huzhoulu County. Carrying on his family tradition of calligraphy and painting, Zhao Yong was good at landscape painting and inherited Dong Yuan’s style. He particularly excelled in painting figures and horses, imitating the style of Cao Ba and Han Gan; the orchids and bamboos under his brush are round, smooth, and unrestrained. In terms of calligraphy, he was good at regular script, running script, cursive script, and clerical script, featuring a refreshing and forceful touch.