Li Xia

CHINA, Fujian, Longyan

Li Xia, also known as Yunxian or Baoqin Youzi, was a painter born in Changting county in Longyan, but later lived in Xianyou, Fujian. He was adept in painting Buddhist, Daoist, and historical figures and folklore, and often engaged in mural painting for temples. His style was modeled after that of Liang Kai, Hua Yan, Shangguan Zhou, and Huang Sheng, and utilized bold and strong brushstrokes to convey an ancient yet elegant charm. He held solo art exhibitions in both Nanjing and Shanghai in 1910. His award-winning paintings include Eighteen Arhats Crossing the Sea and Laozi Riding an Ox.
Li relocated to Hsinchu, Taiwan in 1928. Three of his most well-known paintings are kept at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung, Taiwan. Li’s Buddhist paintings include Amitayus Buddha, which was completed in 1927, and Seclusive Dragon Listening to the Sutra in 1930.