Landscape of Jiangnan

Li Keran inscribed on the painting that he was inspired by the old poem 'Spring rain dimming southern China', and had arrived at the town to recuperate from illness. Li attempts to create a landscape to aptly reflect his mood and spirit of the place, resulting in a damp, misty landscape of spring rain over southern Jiangnan. In his composition, dampness and light ink enhance the dimmed, wet drizzle, creating a mood of rainy atmosphere. Even the inscription follows this rainy tune as his brush is loaded with water and characters are faint and light in colour.

Compared to Lot 1376, this painting is devoid of strong colours and thick ink, strengthening Li's power of expression through different modes of intensity and atmosphere with the use of his brush. Compositionally, this type of painting is synonymous to Li's early landscape compositions featuring a much reduced area occupied by the sky and resting the main backdrop to a solid mountain. Though subtle in gradation, different layers of grey ink wash are piled to formulate the mountains, trees , bridge and houses, finally 'squeezing' out a light path of water running down the centre of the painting. The spring theme is further stressed by the delicate use of pink which trace the banks of the river, culminating to a picturesque, elegant and orderly spring scene blurred by a light drizzle.