Five Hundred Arhats No.414 · The Venerable Foremost | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.414 The Venerable Foremost

'Foremost' means the most noble and supreme among dharmas, unsurpassed and highest, beyond all, realizing the foremost bodhi, honored by world and beyond-world; the name marks one who realizes the highest dharma, noble and unsurpassed. The venerable has a surpassing presence and a lofty look, possessing the eminence of foremost supremacy, unsurpassed bodhi, beyond all peers, seeking supreme awakening with the highest heart.

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