Li Gonglin

Li Gonglin or Li Kung-Lin (1049-1106), one of the leading Chinese painters of the Song dynasty, also known as Li Longmian (Li Lung-Mien). Li Gonglin was a master of ink drawing in the Northern Song wenren hua, the literati school of painting. While paintings attributed to him are not well authenticated, contemporary writings detail his output and define his style. More than other artists of the period, Li Kung-lin concentrated on animal and human subjects, rather than on landscape. His ink technique depended on sharply etched, fluent lines, which he used with grace and precision to define a subject. His portraits and figure paintings, although more realistic than those of earlier periods, often violate formal likeness in favor of expressive brushwork.