SKETCHES OF FIGURES

The portrait of a bald workman is inscribed with a discussion of the techniques of portrait painting, which include line drawing (baimiao) and wash; line drawing provides the bones and wash the flesh and blood. On his depiction of a hatted workman, Shi Lu stated his belief that a successful portrait should evoke a sense of tactile appeal based on the surface texture of the subject, as well as presenting a sense of dynamic beauty based on the subject's gesture. By doing so, the texture and gesture could produce an impressive portrait. Therefore, while the texture conveys the physiological characteristics of the subject, the subject's gesture is the foundation for a painting's structure. On the portrait of the stonemason, Shi Lu stated that he painted the picture in Yanchuan, near Yan'an.