Chiu Ya-Tsai was a Taiwanese contemporary artist known for painting portraits, where he’s not so much concerned with the facial expressions of his models, but rather with their minds. (http://www.widewalls.ch/artist/chiu-ya-tsai/) Chiu's portraits of Taiwan's modern-day literati are greatly influenced by the figure painting of the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD) seen in the hooked noses and almond-shaped eyes. Elegant androgynous-looking men and women with elongated, oval faces are shown seated or standing in partial profile. The subjects appear to be lonely, even melancholic, but controlled and self-possessed. (http://www.ravenelart.com/artist.php?id=11&lan=en)