Rongbaozhai Painting Spectrum. Ancient Part. 54. Flowers and Birds

Author: (Qing) Luo Pin Painted
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Luo Pin was an outstanding painter who lived during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing Dynasty. He was a rising star among the art group known as the "Eight (Unconventional Geniuses) of Yangzhou." In terms of age, when Luo Pin was still a child, several of his senior predecessors who had settled in Weiyang and Yangzhou were already nearing fifty. Luo Pin had a wide range of artistic skills, developed comprehensively, and possessed a distinctive personal style, making him a master of poetry, calligraphy, and painting. He was good at making friends, loved traveling, and was indifferent to fame and fortune, remaining a commoner throughout his life. He was the culmination of the artistic achievements of the Eight Masters of Yangzhou.
Luo Pin (1733–1799) was also known as Erfeng and, under his dual alias, as a monk of Huazhen Temple. His ancestral home was Chengkan Village in Shixian County, Anhui Province, and he was born in Yangzhou. He excelled in painting figures, Buddha statues, flowers and fruits, and landscapes, and was a disciple of Jin Nong. From a young age, Luo Pin was exceptionally intelligent and demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent early on. Around the age of twenty, he had already made connections with the prominent figures of the Yangzhou poetic circle and often engaged in poetic exchanges with his senior contemporaries, earning widespread admiration. At the age of twenty-five, he formally became Jin Nong's disciple.
Jin Nong was then seventy-one years old and the leader of the Eight Masters of Yangzhou, renowned across the Jiangnan region. His decision to take Luo Pin as a disciple in his twilight years showed his high regard for the young man. Luo Pin's figure paintings were famous for his skill in depicting Buddha statues and eerie ghost-themed works, earning him the reputation of a genius. His character and artistic style were both refined and ancient. The "Ghostly Mirth" (Gu Qi Tu) he painted served as a satire on society, winning the admiration of both his contemporaries and later generations.