Ren Boqian. Flowers and birds

Author: Ren Boqian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Ren Boqian's creation of flower-and-bird paintings can be broadly divided into three stages. As early as the Tongzhi to the early Guangxu period, he copied Chen Hongshou's double-hooked and colored works, and received guidance from his cousin Ren Xiong and Ren Xun in meticulous brushwork and heavy coloring. He pursued the "method of imitating the Northern Song dynasty, using pure dark ink to outline the bones and applying thick colors," reflecting the meticulous and realistic style of the Song dynasty's flower-and-bird paintings in his works. In the painting "Lotus," a piece of stone green tea leaves divides the composition into upper and lower halves. The outer half of a lotus leaf extends toward the lower left corner of the painting, disrupting the balance. The leaf's surface and back have different shades of color, with the edges painted in light ochre to indicate the aging and fragmentation of the leaf. The veins are outlined in thick ink, while the stems are depicted with light ink in a yellow-green hue, covered in sharp, pointed thorns. Beside the large stone green lotus leaves, white lotus flowers bloom, exquisitely delicate and shy, revealing only half of their faces. The colors are light and transparent, with full water content, showcasing the texture of the lotus flowers. Fine, light yellow lines are used to the network veins on the shallow and thin petals. The golden stamens are bright and lustrous, as if making one feel the freshness and fragrance of the lotus flowers under sunlight. Dense aquatic grasses grow beside the lotus leaves, lush yet orderly, painted in light ochre with clear and delicate colors, and finely outlined. The entire composition is simple and ancient, evoking a fresh and serene sense.