Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Li Anzhong
Song academy painter of birds and animals who served under Huizong and rejoined the academy in the south in the Shaoxing era
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.
Li Anzhong was active in the first half of the twelfth century. He served in the painting academy of Emperor Huizong in the Xuanhe era, moved south with the Song court after the fall of Kaifeng, and rejoined the academy in the Shaoxing era, when he was rewarded with a gold belt and given the rank of chengzhong lang. He painted birds and animals in fine outline and colour and was known for scenes of hawks striking their prey. Turtledove on a Bamboo Branch, an album leaf, is attributed to him, and Quail and Autumn Flowers and other leaves under his name are in the National Palace Museum, Taipei.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active from the Xuanhe era of Northern Song to the Shaoxing era of Southern Song (1119–1162)