Herding

In 1946, Li Keren was invited by Xu Beihong (1895-1953) to join the National Art School in Beiping. There, he met Qi Baishi (1986-1957) and had been studying art with him for a decade since then. During the period, Qi Baishi inscribed many of Li Keren’s paintings on cattle herding, showing the former’s love for such works. This particular piece is diagonally framed, which was a common technique employed by Li. The bathing buffalo and the shepherd boy are positioned in a smooth curve, so that each element of the scene corresponds to each other in perfect harmony. The body of the buffalo is portrayed in accumulated ink and painted several times in different shades to create a layered and textured blackness. Similar techniques were also commonly used in Li’s famous “Landscape Against the Light”, which also worked on the intricacies of the darker spots and can be cross-referenced with this piece of work.