Pointed Peaks and Strange Rocks

Li Shizhuo was a Manchu official who learned brushwork from celebrated literati artists of his day. His paintings continue the classic landscape traditions, but at the same time, they demonstrate an individual sensibility in the dry brushstrokes that sculpt the boulders and cliffs and the fine lines that describe the curvilinear patterns of clouds and water. In general, his use of color also follows literati tradition, which employed it sparingly, more to add emotional intensity to a scene than to enhance its descriptive purpose. The bold use of flame red in the painting of sunrise, however, is unprecedented and seems to reflect a new interest in representing more realistically the shifting moods of nature.