# Jin Nong artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/jin-nong/
Profile generated: 2026-05-29T21:16:37.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Chinese
- Movements: Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou
- Common media: ink painting, calligraphy

## About Jin Nong

Jin Nong (金農, 1687–1764) was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and writer active during the Qing dynasty. Born in Hangzhou, he spent his most productive years in the wealthy mercantile city of Yangzhou, where he became one of the celebrated Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou — a group of artists known for rejecting orthodox academic painting in favor of expressive, individualist styles. Jin favored the amateur scholar-painter tradition, loading his compositions with literary symbolism while maintaining his independence by selling directly in the open market rather than relying on individual patronage. He was particularly renowned for his ink paintings of plum blossoms and is recognized as the first artist in the Chinese tradition to produce a substantial body of self-portraits. In his later years he incorporated Buddhist imagery into his work. He also wrote prolifically, with some of his publications supported by wealthy Yangzhou patrons.

## Common works and media

Ink paintings on paper or silk — especially plum blossom (mei) compositions — are the works most frequently associated with Jin Nong at auction. He also produced self-portrait paintings, Buddhist figure studies, landscape paintings, and calligraphic works in various scripts. His calligraphy, particularly his clerical and running script styles, is collected independently. Works are typically mounted as hanging scrolls, handscrolls, album leaves, or fan paintings, and may bear his personal seals and poetic inscriptions.

## Market and appraisal context

Jin Nong's paintings and calligraphic works appear regularly in major international auctions of Chinese classical art. Collectors encounter ink paintings of plum blossoms, landscapes, Buddhist figures, and self-portraits, as well as calligraphic works executed in his distinctive style. Attribution can be challenging: his fame led to extensive copying, and many works in the market carry uncertain or debated attributions. Appraisal value depends on authenticated provenance, condition of ink and paper or silk, quality of mounting, verification of seals and inscriptions, and comparable realized prices at major auction houses. Professional connoisseurship is strongly recommended for any Jin Nong attribution.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines identity research from library authority files, encyclopedic sources, and Wikidata with Appraisily's auction records and comparable lot data. Sale dates, realized prices, and auction-house provenance are incorporated when available, and all biographical claims cite the public sources listed on this page.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q710049
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Nong
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500320171
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/6262313/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81114187