Yan Liben

Yan Liben came from an aristocratic family of painters and officials; his father and elder brother both worked as artists at court. He painted portraits for Emperor Taizong, including the meritorious officials of the Lingyan Pavilion, and rose through government to serve as chancellor under Emperor Gaozong. He also worked as an architect. The Thirteen Emperors Scroll in Boston, with its procession of rulers from the Han to the Sui, is the one surviving work widely accepted as partly his.