You Qiu

CHINA, Jiangsu, Suzhou; Ming dynasty

You Qiu was a painter from Changzhou (present day Suzhou), who later lived in Taicang, Jiangsu. He was also known as Ziqiu or Fengqiu. He was skillful in painting landscapes, and was deeply influenced by the work of Shen Zhou. You’s style was also close to that of Wu Zhen, a well-known painter of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). He emulated the finesse of Liu Songnian and Qian Shunju’s works and was proficient in depicting figures, especially ladies, with exceptional beauty and grace. His vivid depiction of Arhat Crossing the Sea is an exemplar of his exquisite brushwork combined with an ink wash.
Also an avid painter of Buddhist and Daoist figures, he once painted a mural of Marching Armies at Guandi Temple in Xiaoximen, in addition to the various Buddha images he painted on the walls of the sutra repository in Yanshan. His other paintings, People Among Mountain and River and Spring Morning of Han Palace, are retained at the Shanghai Museum.