Five Hundred Arhats No.145 · The Venerable of Great Marks | Traditional Hand-Painted Chinese Ink Zen Buddhist Figure Painting | 100×50cm

Five Hundred Arhats · No.145 The Venerable of Great Marks

'Great marks' are the marks of a great being—the Buddha's thirty-two marks and eighty secondary characteristics; the name marks one of great capacity, adorned with noble marks and broad presence. The venerable has a grand countenance and a serene expression, possessing the marks of a great being, the adornment of merit and wisdom, and the commanding air of one fit to teach gods and humans.

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