Landscape (in the style of Li Ch’eng, a painter active ca. mid 10th century

Cheng Sui was born into a scholar-official family from Anhui and because of his family¿s collection, he became renown as a connoisseur of antique bronzes and jades, painting and calligraphy. From 1635 on he lived in Yangzhou and later in Nanjing, where he drew on family connections to become active in the community of artists, writers and intellectuals in those cities. His paintings are characterized by strong two-dimensional emphasis on shape and texture and by rhythmic, yet delicate brushwork. His style was influenced both by his friend Kuncan and his relative Cheng Zhengkui.