Li Zongjin, a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, studied at Suzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1934 and became a professor in the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1952. Li Zongjin’s painting has excellent realistic skills, especially in the subject matter of portraits, which has been highly praised by Xu artists, including Xu Beihong.

“The Man With the Knife,” painted in 1957, depicts a Nepali man in national dress, slightly on his side, eyes shining straight ahead, two hands clutching a saber pinned to his waist, seemingly ready to pull it out at any moment. The calm and calm expression of the figure and its poised posture bring an internal tension under contrast, which makes this oil painting portrait go beyond mere characterization and have some potential narrative. The background of trees and mist-shrouded mountains behind the figure accentuates and intensifies this feeling, as if the whole piece were part of a larger historical group. As a work of Li Zongjin’s heyday, the painting technique is mature to the old, and the control of the relationship between characters, scenes and outdoor light can especially reflect a kind of Li Zongjin’s painting talent.

(Edited by Su Wenxiang, Xu Chongbao, Huang Si, 2015)