Ke Jiusi

CHINA, Zhejiang; Yuan dynasty

Ke Jiusi, also known as Jingzhong or Dan Qiusheng, was a painter, calligrapher, and poet from Xianju, Taizhou (present day Zhejiang). He held a post in the imperial court where he authenticated the royal collection of artwork and seals.
Ke studied under Wen Tong and was influenced by the works of Zhao Mengfu. His running script calligraphy style was considered superb, and he specialized in painting landscapes, flowers, and bamboo in ink, initiating the popular application of calligraphy on painted works.
His paintings, Elegant Fragrance in the Evening, Bamboos, Pavilion in the Mountains, Summer Mountain Before the Rain, and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, are all kept at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. His works of calligraphy include inscriptions appended to two separate pieces by Zhao Mengfu, Letter to Huang Tingjing and Letter to Wan Shouqu, both of which are kept at the Palace Museum in Beijing.