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Li Di
Southern Song academy painter from Heyang whose dated birds, animals and herding scenes run from 1174 to 1197
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Li Di of Heyang
Li Di came from Heyang, present-day Mengzhou in Henan. The Precious Mirror of Painting says he served the painting academy in the Xuanhe era as a gentleman for fidelity and was reappointed deputy director of the academy with a gold belt in the Shaoxing era, though his dated pictures all come from the reigns of Xiaozong to Ningzong. He painted birds and flowers, bamboo and rocks, and animals with close observation. Surviving works include Herdsmen Returning in Wind and Rain (Taipei, 1174), Birds in a Snowy Tree (Shanghai Museum, 1187), and Hawk and Pheasant among Maples (1196) and Chicks Waiting to Be Fed (1197), both in the Palace Museum, Beijing.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; dated works survive from 1174 to 1197