Lin Tinggui

CHINA, Zhejiang, Ningbo; Southern Song dynasty

Lin Tinggui was a painter of Buddhist art. In 1178, he was invited by Monk Yishao of Hui’an Yuan Temple in Zhejiang to complete a set of Five Hundred Arhats paintings alongside Zhou Jichang. The resulting 100 paintings took over ten years to complete and, after their initial offering to the temple, subsequently made their way to Japan and the United States. With their varying themes and figures, this set of paintings are the only remaining collection of Five Hundred Arhats painted before the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279).
All the paintings are originally kept at Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. Subsequently, 12 of the 100 paintings were brought to the United States between 1868 and 1912, ten of these are kept at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Massachusetts, USA, and the other two are housed in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., USA. Eighty-two paintings are still kept at Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto, each of which is listed as a Important Cultural Property of Japan.
Among the Five Hundred Arhats paintings, those painted by Lin include Feeding the Hungry Ghosts, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Massachusetts, USA; and Laundering, kept at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., USA. Under a Tree, Receiving Offering, Ascending Auspicious Sign, and Admiring a Painting Beneath Trees are at Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. Although his overall painting style is similar to that of Zhou Jichang, his works are drawn with discernibly bolder lines, darker ink tones, and greater contrast. The arhats, human figures, and rocks are distinctly outlined, and the faces are emphasized with a three-dimensional impression.