Portrait of Calligrapher Huai Su

This painting by Fan Zeng, a renowned contemporary painter, depicts the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk and calligrapher Huai Su (737–799) who was famous for his cursive calligraphy. Legend has it that Huai Su was too poor to afford paper for his calligraphy practice. He planted banana trees in the courtyard of the temple where he lived and used the large leaves as paper to practice his art. It was this story that provided a source of inspiration for Fan Zeng when he painted this portrait of Huai Su. The monk is shown seated in profile, wearing a white robe and a gold hoop earring as he writes with a brush on the banana leaf. The painting demonstrates Fan Zeng’s style, which is characterized by simple, but vigorous brush strokes, dramatic configuration of figures, and dynamic delineation of form. Fan Zeng is a great master in executing his composition using pomo or “splashed-ink” technique. This technique is characterized by the application of ink washes to define a subject followed by the addition of finer details in darker ink with quick, highly calligraphic strokes.