Li Kan
Master of realistic Yuan bamboo painting
Li Kan(李衎) (1245-1320), courtesy name Zhongbin(仲宾), styled Xizhai Daoren(息斋道人), and later known as Mr. Zuiche(醉车先生), was a painter from Jiqiu (now Beijing) during the Yuan Dynasty. In the first year of Emperor Renzong's Huangqing era (1312), he was appointed Minister of Personnel, became Grand Scholar at Jixian Hall, and was honored as a Senior Grand Master of Glory and Prosperity. In his later years, he resigned due to illness and lived in Weiyang (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu). He died at the age of 75 and was posthumously titled Duke of Ji and given the posthumous name Wenjian. Li Kan, along with Zhao Mengfu(赵孟頫) and Gao Kegong(高克恭), was known as one of the three great painters of bamboo in the early Yuan period. He was skilled in painting bamboo. His ink bamboo initially followed the style of Wang Tingyun and Wang Manqing from the Jin Dynasty, later learning from Wen Tong, and for colored works, he studied Li Po. Later, under the advice of Xianyu Boji, he adopted the double-outline coloring technique developed by Li Po and Huang Quan’s father and son. He traveled extensively through mountains, rivers, forests, and groves in the southeast, deeply exploring areas known for bamboo, and was exceptionally precise in analyzing the shapes, colors, and forms of bamboo. Li Qin wrote a book called 'Bamboo Manual' (also known as 'Detailed Record of Bamboo'), summarizing his life-long experience in painting bamboo. His surviving works include 'Double-Outline Bamboo', 'Four Clears', and 'Curved Bamboo', among others.