Portrait of a Hong Merchant

Guan Zoulin (known as Spoilum) was the first Cantonese artist documented (from 1774 onward) as painting in oil in the Western style. Once he had arrived in Guangzhou (Canton), a foreign ship’s supercargo selected a Cantonese merchant from a group of approved traders called the ‘co-hong’ to act as their agent and perform other duties while in China. The Cantonese merchants were some of the wealthiest and most respected, approved by the Emperor himself. Foreign traders often had portraits made of both themselves and their Cantonese counterparts. The identity of this sitter is unknown.