Chinese Painting Masterpieces Library. Modern Part. Pan Tianshou

Author: Jia Dejiang, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Regarding Mr. Pan Tianshou, my understanding is not based on personal interaction, let alone research. However, merely as a disciple and fellow artist, I admire him and would like to share my thoughts. Mr. Pan Tianshou was a prominent master of literati painting in modern times, primarily painting flowers and birds, as well as landscapes. There were many flower-and-bird painters in the modern era, from Xu Qingteng of the Ming Dynasty and Ba Da Shanren of the Qing Dynasty, to Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, and Pan Tianshou of the late Qing Dynasty. Over several centuries, only a handful of great painters emerged. Why were artists like Ren Boren, who were extremely popular in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican era, not mentioned as highly today after some time? To be precise, he still falls short. Wu Changshuo actually learned painting from Ren Boren in his fifties, but the moment he put pen to paper, he surpassed Ren Boren. His techniques were consistently better than Ren Boren's, and literati painting differs from academic painting. His works were not those of a skilled craftsman but those of a literati painter. Therefore, Pan Tianshou had his own unique style, truly deserving of the title of an exceptional contemporary master of freehand literati painting.