Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Li Shida
Suzhou painter who passed the jinshi examination in 1574 but did not take office, known for figures and landscapes such as New Year in a Village
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 Hao Yanghuai
Li Shida, known as Yanghuai, came from Wu county, today's Suzhou. He passed the jinshi examination in 1574 but, according to the National Palace Museum in Taipei, then lived in retirement without office. He painted figures, often with a satirical edge, and landscapes. The Palace Museum in Beijing holds his New Year in a Village, signed as painted at Shihu in the twelfth month of the wuwu year, early 1619, showing villagers near Suzhou setting off firecrackers and paying New Year calls; Taipei holds his Zhong Kui in a Wintry Grove.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active c. 1574–1619