Liang Kai: A Madman or A Master

Liang Kai (梁楷) : native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, student of Jia Shigu. He served as a painter-in-attendance at the Imperial Painting Academy in the Jiatai era (1202-1204) of Emperor ingzong of the Southern Song. A free spirit unbeholden to anyone, he declined a “golden ribbon” honor bestowed by the court and left the academy, earning him the nickname of “Madman Liang”. He was adept at painting Buddhist and Daoist figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, and versatile in both broad- and narrow-stroke techniques. He was a pioneer of the reduced-strokes style of figure and flower-and-bird painting; his legacy had a huge influence later in the formation of the freehand, “idea-writing” painting style. This painting “Immortal in Splashed Ink” (泼墨仙人图) depicting a bare-chested immortal is done by alternately applying ink washes and outlining with a brush. The physical form, the texture and the spirit of the subject are vividly rendered in just a few simple brushstrokes, making it one of the most important minimalist figure paintings in China’s art history.

source: The Art Book of Chinese Paintings, published by Long River Press