Li Keran

or Li K'o-jan orig. Li Yongshun alias Sanqi

(born March 26, 1907, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China—died Dec. 5, 1989, Beijing) Chinese painter and art educator. While studying at the Shanghai Art College he was influenced by Kang Youwei, who advocated merging Eastern and Western art to create a new century in Chinese painting. At the Hangzhou National Art College (1929–32) Li studied with the French teacher André Claoudit and developed an abstract and structural painting style that showed the influence of German Expressionism. In 1932 he became a member of the leftist Yiba Art Society. In the 1940s he began to paint cowboys and water buffalo, revitalizing this traditional subject matter with an innovative technique of splashed ink. He joined the faculty of the Beijing National Art College in 1946. While he emulated ancient Chinese calligraphy, his training in oil painting also taught him to apply Western elements, such as chiaroscuro, to his work. In his later years, Li attracted many students and followers, who formed the “Li School” of the 1980s.