Five Hundred Arhats No.171 · The Venerable Foremost in Virtue | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.171 The Venerable Foremost in Virtue

'Foremost in virtue' is the head of all merit, whose conduct stands first and is the very leader among virtues; the name marks one who leads by virtue and guides the many. The venerable has a dignified, measured, leading presence, possessing the air of a chief—foremost in merit, worthy of honor for his conduct, guiding others by his own virtue.

Painted by Li Zongyi in the freehand Chinese ink (xieyi) tradition, the brushwork is fluent and the ink tones layered from dense to pale, capturing the arhat’s spirit in a few assured strokes. The blank paper itself breathes Zen; figure and spirit are one, blending monastic solemnity with the literati’s ease. Each of the Five Hundred Arhats bears its own name and practice, uniting faith, art and collectibility — an original, non-reproducible hand-painted work.

Size: approx. 100×50cm (4.5 square chi) | Traditional hand-painted Chinese ink Zen Buddhist figure painting | On paper