Rongbaozhai Ancient Painting Anthology (17): Flowers and Birds

Author: Xu Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Genius is the elite among people, the cream of the crop. Genius combined with madness may not be highly regarded at the time, but it is rarer than stars. Today, we can analyze the phenomenon of madness in a relatively scientific way, show sympathy and understanding, even admiration, for the works of the mad. Xu Wei is an example worth studying from a new perspective. Xu Wei (1521–1594), initially styled Wenqing, later known as Wenchang, styled Tianchi, and also called Qingteng, was born into a small bureaucratic family in Shanyin County, Zhejiang (now Shaoxing City). He was skilled in poetry, calligraphy, and ink and wash painting, pioneering the style of freehand brushwork in flower and bird painting, which had a profound influence on later generations.