Li Yu, style name Meisheng, came from Ganquan (today Yangzhou) in Jiangsu province. Around 1900, he was an important painter of flowers and birds in the so-called xieyi style (painting according to the idea). His models were the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, among them especially Hua Yan (1682–1756), whose influence can be seen well in this painting. He also painted figures and landscapes. Towards the end of his life, he suffered from severe rheumatism, which almost paralysed his arms.