Learn Ren Bo Nian

Author: Chen Baodi (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Ren Boren (1840-1895), originally named Run, later changed his name to Yi, styled Boren, and styled Ciyuan. He changed his name to Xiaolou out of admiration for Fei Xiaolou, a painter from Shoushan, and also used aliases such as Shan Yiluojin and Shan Yiluojin Xingzhe. He was from Shanyin, Zhejiang (now Shaoxing). His father, Ren Hesheng, was a folk portrait painter, and Ren Boren learned painting from his father since childhood, showing great talent. Later, his family moved to Xiaoshan and became rice merchants. When he was a bit older, he worked as an apprentice in Shanghai, where he sold paintings signed by Ren Weichang to make a living. Later, he met Ren Weichang by chance and received his praise and encouragement. In 1868, he was recommended by Ren Weichang to study painting with Ren Xun in Suzhou, and returned to Shanghai in the winter of that year. The painters of the Shanghai School, such as Zhang Xiong, highly appreciated his art and widely praised him, making his reputation soar. He earned a living through painting throughout his life. Ren Boren was a painter who paid great attention to life. In this small-sized work, the lotus flowers and withered lotus leaves are depicted accurately and vividly. Without meticulous observation and sketches of life, such a refined work would not have been possible. Ren Boren became famous at a young age and, by his thirties, had already stood out among the highly skilled painters of the Shanghai School. Combined with his art style that appeals to both the refined and the popular, his works have maintained a stable position in the market both before and after his time. Ren Boren was a highly productive painter, as well as a painter of high-quality works. His works are collected by major museums, and a considerable number of paintings are treasured by the public. Due to the high price of his works and their stability in the market, forgeries are numerous, and counterfeiters are always emerging. Among them, there are a certain number of "old fakes"ing the market. At that time, the main counterfeiters included Ni Muge, Ren Jin, Ren Xia, and Jiang Hanting. Ni Muge's style was extremely similar to Ren Boren's, and his skill was high, so those who could recognize art could not help but notice it. Ren Jin, Ren Xia, and Jiang Hanting (Ren Jin sold some of Ren Boren's commonly used seals to Jiang Hanting) produced many forged prints and forgeries, sometimes even experts were taken in by them.