Guanyin

The collector's seal at the lower left corner belongs to Li Qiaofeng, who asked Zhang Daqian to paint this image specially for his mother. Guanyin, also known as the Goddess of Mercy, symbolizes compassion, unconditional love and protection of people.
With fluid line and fitting use of colour, the Guanyin exudes a feeling of calmness and serenity. Zhang Daqian's time at Dunhuang was probably a turning point in his artistic career, particularly in his portrayal of figures. He focused primarily on the reduction of lines and developed an acute sensitivity towards the use of colour, having seen the Dunhuang murals in all their splendor. Tibetan lamas taught him how to mix mineral pigments, such as mineral blue from azurite, mineral green from malachite, and use them in his paintings so that the colour would not fade over time. In terms of technical changes, he began to make light outlines for his works, before overlaying them with darker strokes, thus adding a three-dimensionality to the painting for a more realistic result.