Yangzhou Eight Masters Paintings Collection

Author: Yuan Liezhou
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Publish Date: 1997-12-01
Features: The Eight Masters of Yangzhou are a collective name for eight painters who resided in Yangzhou, Jiangsu during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. They are Wang Shishen, Huang Shen, Jin, Gao Xiang, Li Shan, Zheng Banqiao, Li Fangying, and Luo Pin. Their paintings primarily focus on flowers and plants, but they also painted landscapes and figures. They drew inspiration from masters such as Chen Daofu, Xu Wei, and the Eight Great Masters of the Ming Dynasty. Unbound by the conventions of predecessors, they broke new ground, expressing genuine emotions. They were also skilled in calligraphy or seal carving and emphasized the integration of poetry, calligraphy, and painting. As they differed greatly from the orthodox "Four Wangs" painting school popular at the time, they were regarded by contemporaries as "unconventional masters" or "monsters," earning the nickname "The Eight Eccentrics." Although collectively labeled "eccentric," each had a unique eccentricity: Wang Shishen's lean and resilient brushwork, Li Shan's bold and extraordinary style, Huang Shen's free and refined approach, Jin's profound and ancient simplicity, Gao Xiang's concise and elegant elegance, Zheng Banqiao's clear, vigorous, and unconventional talent, Li Fangying's powerful and unrestrained brushwork, and Luo Pin's profound and skilled mastery. They could be described as "a lifetime of ridicule, yet reaching out still creates colorful smoke." With their highly creative and distinctive artistic personalities, as well as their unparalleled talent in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, the Eight Masters of Yangzhou wrote a glorious chapter in the history of Chinese painting.