Fang Weiyi’s Banana Stone Arhat Statue Axis

[Fang Weiyi’s portrait axis of Arhat in banana stone]

The portrait axis of Arhat in banana stone, painted by Fang Weiyi in the first year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1662), paper, ink, 65cm in length and 29.3cm in width
This was painted by the boudoir painter Fang Weiyi at the age of 78. Picture 2: Arhat sits under a strange stone in the shade of a banana. Banana is often used in Buddhism as a metaphor for unreality in body and mind because of its hollowness. The stone symbolizes chastity in literati paintings. The picture takes the banana stone as the background, with one empty and one solid, full of Zen. The lines in the picture are simple and smooth without losing their beauty and softness, and the ink color is light, which is consistent with the painter’s gentle femininity