Portraits of Six Generations of Masters from Damo to Huineng

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Handscroll; Color on silk; 364cm(width)*22cm(height)This painting portrays Chan Buddhist masters from six generations. Damo is of the first generation, Huike of the second, Cengcan of the third, Zunxin of the fourth, Hongren of the fifth, and Huineng of the sixth. There are rocks, springs, pines, and cypresses among the six people, decorating the holy places of Buddhism. There are two types of strokes in Dai Jin’s figure paintings. One is fine and detailed, and the other is thick and broad. This approach is inherited from Liu Songnian and Li Tang, whose paintings are meticulous, with human figures vividly presented using heavy, thick strokes, exhibiting a smooth, free style. Dai also adopted the typical scholarly style of the Southern Song Dynasty, with a solid foundation in the use of brushes. This piece is a good example of his meticulous figure painting.