Nothing Original Naoto

Li Shih‐ta, a Suchow artist of Late Ming period, has been regarded as a third‐rate painter of Wu School and did not get much attention for a long time. But with careful study of artistic feature of his works, something interesting would reveal. We can see almost all the characteristics of this most particular historical era on this painter. Changes of economic and ideological field led to transition of aesthetic taste, which brought out the integration of literati paintings and non‐literati paintings.Secular subjectsfound favor with literati painters to an unprecedented level, weird style became popular, and their painted works revealed some discontent and regret for the decline of moral values and misshapen development of Late Ming society. Most of Li Shih‐ta’spaintings show elegant life which literates were familiar with, but secular aesthetic elements entered. With deformation and exaggeration the figures of literates on his paintings came to life and looked like ordinary people. Traditional literati themes like "seclusion","fairyland", and "land of peach blossoms" became real life on Li’s paintings: fairies living in fairylands were not transcendent beings‐‐they were like people in the secular world;literates who lived in reclusion in the countryside also celebrated festivals with passion, not as aloof as in the tradition; there is even a painting describes three old men with humps named Three Hunchback. The artist used a humorous tone to describe something unhealthy to express sarcasm to the degenerate and corrupt society. With materials of all fields of Late Ming era, I will locate Li Shih‐ta into this specific period and deeply inspect his life, acquaintance, artistic ideas and works toanalyze the connection between the trend of history and his art, and try my best to make a fair and felicitous comment for this little known artist.