Jiang Zhi, the artist who produced the image, which has been interpreted as a criticism of the lack of property rights in China, said evicted families should be treated more humanely. He said he had displayed similar photos without issue for more than a decade and was puzzled that it would be considered controversial.

“Will the image of a bouquet of flowers, a gesture, a certain kind of smile, an umbrella, a hat and so on suddenly become forbidden?” he said. “Does this not stem from a bizarre and ridiculous sort of fear?”

The image was later restored.

In Beijing, a painter, Hua Yong, was briefly detained this winter after he posted dozens of videos online documenting the destruction and his conversations with aggrieved families. Mr. Hua’s posts were later deleted on Chinese sites.

Mr. Hua said censorship was impossible to avoid. “The duty of artists is first to record and second, to ruminate,” he said in an interview. “I hope I can wake up more people.”

Mr. Xi’s government seems especially sensitive to art that uses the phrase “di duan ren kou,” or “low-end population,” a derisive reference to migrants that is used by some officials. The phrase has become a rallying cry for critics of the government’s mass expulsions, though censors now block it on the Chinese internet.