Yuan’ai

CHINA, Sichuan; Northern Song dynasty

Yuan’ai was a monk and painter from Shu (present day Sichuan). He was known to have left home at a young age to renounce at Xiangguo Temple in Henan. His expertise was in painting portraits, depicting Buddhist and Daoist figures, as well as painting bamboo in ink.
On the back of the sutra repository at Xiangguo Temple, he painted an image of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. He was summoned by both Emperor Taizong (reigned 626–649) of the Tang dynasty and Emperor Zhenzong (reigned 997–1022) of the Song dynasty to paint Taizong’s portrait; the resulting portrayals are vivid and remarkably lifelike. Additionally, his Portrait of Emperor Taizu was mentioned in Record of Clouds and Mist Passing Before One’s Eyes.