Chen Hongshou of the Ming Dynasty was a painter of figures, flowers and birds, and he had a position in the history of Chinese painting art.
2022 is the 370th anniversary of Chen Hongshou's death, and recently, "Gao Guqi Qiqi - Chen Hongshou Calligraphy and Painting Works Exhibition" is being exhibited at Xuwei Art Museum (Shaoxing Museum Branch), and some exhibits were updated yesterday, including the axis of "Right Army Cage Goose Diagram" and the axis of "Xuanhua Zhishi Diagram". The exhibition focuses on Chen Hongshou's character paintings, selects his works from different periods and themes, and combines his cultural background and inheritance from teachers and friends, showing the artistic spirit of tracing the origin, uniqueness and individuality behind his painting style.
1. The art of Chen Hongshou
According to the Qing people's summary, Lao Lian's paintings changed four times in his life, entering the "three realms", that is, from "wonder" to "god" and from "god" to "transformation". In Chen Hongshou's "Flower and Bird Fan" in the collection of the Palace Museum, Tang Jiu Jing said: "(Chen) Zhang Hou was born less than sixty years old, and his pen and ink changed in four ways, few but wonderful and divine, and old age turned into a ruin." Its change is also great in ten years, and when it is from little to strong, when it comes out of the wonderful people and gods, Zhang Lao (Hong Shou) tasted the day of self-evaluation: 'Although Yu Painting to old age is absolutely invincible, but if you want to do what you want to do for the strong, you can't. 'Looking at this, we know that its comments are correct. "This assessment is very pertinent. (The "less" mentioned by the ancients generally refers to people under 30 years old) The so-called "hua" is the extreme of lightness, and Chinese painting lists "nature" as the top grade, that is, what was later called "Yi". Chen Hongshou's "transformation" not only includes "Yi", but also the full embodiment of Chen Hongshou's character in painting. "Zhuangzi" is called "materialization", it is "Tao" and not just painting. Chen Hongshou's painting in old age "transforms" means that he has completely broken away from the earthly realm and entered the most transcendent realm. The works I saw when Chen Hongshou was a teenager were earlier than the "Chen Hongshou Father and Son Collection" collected by Weng Wange. Judging from the style, when painted before the age of 30, Meizhi used a strong and hard pen, which is the painting method of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although the painting method of the Northern Song Dynasty is hard but not rigid. Hong Shou lived in Hangzhou in his early years, and Hangzhou was the political and cultural center of the Southern Song Dynasty, so there were many Southern Song paintings. The figure paintings he created when he was about 30 years old also like to use such rigid and straight lines.
Chen Hongshou's early flower and bird paintings, mainly based on the teachers of the Song Dynasty, are solid and strict, rich and majestic. Although there are some personal features, they are not prominent, so they can only be included in the wonderful or capable products. Chen Hongshou's paintings of flowers and birds in his prime greatly exceeded those in his early years. The Ming Chen Old Lotus Flowers, Birds, Grass and Insect Book contains ten albums, which he painted when he was 37 years old. This set of paintings is Chen Hongshou's work in his prime, and it is also a work when Miao entered the gods, slightly stronger than "Miao", but not very "divine".
Ming Chen Hongshou Lotus Mandarin Duck Axis Collection of the Palace Museum
The axis of "Lotus Mandarin Duck Drawing" in the collection of the Palace Museum is a representative work of Chen Hongshou in his prime. In the painting, the lotus flower is paved with white powder, and the tips of the flowers are light red, thick and not flashy; The lotus leaves are dark green with prominent veins. The most rare thing is that the pen and ink colors are very quiet and calm, which shows that Chen Hongshou's personal style has matured. It's just that the big stone in front of the lotus is still outlined with a hard and square-folded solid line (the line is thicker than the line used in later years), and has not yet been "transformed". Both butterflies and mandarin ducks in the water are much more "incarnated" than in earlier years. Therefore, this kind of painting can be described as the main appearance of the "god" in the prime of life.
Chen Hongshou painted stones in his early years and prime with a relatively thick and hard line, thick and solid, and straight folded square hooks. In the paintings made in his later years, although the stone shape is the same as that of the middle-aged works, the lines have become fine and soft, light and gentle, round and delicate, and there is no rough and straight atmosphere of the early years. Moreover, the whole becomes soft and tight, the outer strong is restrained (energy is concentrated inside), no moss points, and there is no thick and stimulating moss points like in the early and prime-age paintings, and the coloring is also more ancient, surpassing the Song and Tang dynasties, and directly entering the tang of the Six Dynasties. Later paintings are only laid with light powder, unlike works in the early years and prime of life. The lines of the branches and flowers are not as serious as in the early years, with heavy and solid strokes, but written casually, soothingly, and even if nothing. The surface of the line seems to be irregular, but in fact it changes wonderfully, revealing the author's emotions and interests everywhere. The butterfly is also much lighter than the earlier painting, and the color contrast is not strong, but there is a very subtle change. The green flowers and leaves are not as thick and thick as the green leaves painted in the early years, but they do not appear thin, but have a closer sense of nature.
Summarizing Chen Hongshou's paintings in his later years, in short, it can be described as simple and elegant. His early and prime-age paintings are detailed; In his later years, his paintings inadvertently revealed simplicity, simple brushwork, simple ink, simple color, and slightly landscaped objects, which is called simple traces. In the early years and in the prime of life, he used hard work to paint, seek strong contrast, and use more thick brush and ink; In his later years, he seemed to paint gently, inadvertently reducing the strong contrast, and the pen and ink were light and lightened, which is called Yi Miao. Early and prime-age paintings are created with heart, and the pen and ink colors are very particular, not natural, so they have not been "lightened" to a certain extent; In his later years, his paintings were not painted with heart, but at random, but naturally revealed the calm and tranquility, emptiness and soothing atmosphere of his state of mind, which is called Yazheng. A person with a disturbed state of mind must have irritability in his pen. Especially such ancient lines in Chen Hongshou's paintings, people who are upset cannot draw them. A person who is snobbish and wants to draw favorably will be able to follow the world and seek to be comprehensive. Because the purpose of painting is not right, painting is also vulgar, not only cannot be elegant, but must go to its opposite: vulgar and unrighteous.
In his later years, Chen Hongshou's paintings surpassed "god" and entered the realm of "transformation". The paintings of this period are so peaceful, natural, simple and without lack of subtle changes, a "transformation" environment. This realm was not only not achieved by the Ming and Qing dynasties, but also rare in the works of the great painters of the Song and Yuan dynasties. As mentioned earlier, it has surpassed the Song and Tang dynasties and directly entered the tang of the Six Dynasties, but it is much more mature and rich than the Six Dynasties.
Chen Hongshou's best and most accomplished is figure painting, and it should be said that his landscapes are influenced by his figure paintings.
Ming Chen Hongshou Lady Xiang of Nine Songs and Pictures of the Qing Dynasty Kangxi Engraved Book "Notes on Chu Words" Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts Library Collection
Ming Chen Hongshou Qu Zi Xing Yin Tu Qing Kangxi Engraved Book "Notes on Chu Words" Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts Library Collection
The eleven extant Nine Songs and a portrait of Qu Yuan (commonly known as Qu Zixingyintu) were written by Chen Hongshou when he was young, and it is certain that he painted it when he was 19 years old.
One; According to Chen Hongshou's friend Zhou Lianggong:
When Zhang Hou learned to paint as a child, he was irregular, crossed the river to Hangzhou Fu to learn Longmian "Seventy-two Sage Stone Carvings", closed his house for ten days, and showed the human day: "What if you can?" Day: "Like." (Chen) Zexi. For another ten days, he also showed people: "What if? "Don't be like." "I like it even more. Try to copy and change the law, easy to round and square, easy to disperse, and people should not be distinguished.
Hangzhou Fuxue was a royal school (Taixue) during the Southern Song Dynasty, originally a residence of Yue Fei, and Long Mian was the great painter Li Gonglin of the Northern Song Dynasty. Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty visited Taixue and ordered the image of Confucius and his seventy-two great disciples to be engraved on Taixue and praised it, so he engraved the "Sage Map" created by Li Gonglin of the Northern Song Dynasty. This set of drawings is still in the Temple of Confucius in Hangzhou, Confucius sat on a bed, seventy-two sages stood to listen to the teachings, a total of seventy-three people, carved on fifteen rectangular stones. Except for the tenth stone, which has been lost, the rest is intact. Li Gonglin's painting Gu Kaizhi, Lu Tanwei, Gu and Lu are all painters of the Six Dynasties, with lines as thin as gossamer, known as "spring silkworm spitting silk", the lines are neat and long, soothing and steady, round and unfoldable, the existing Li Gonglin stone carvings "Sage Drawing" is like this. Chen Hongshou crossed the river to Hangzhou Fuxue to expand this set of paintings and went back to close his house to copy them for ten days, and others saw it and said that he learned it very similarly, and he was very happy; After another ten days, others saw it and said that it was not like it, and he was even happier. Because he copied it several times, he changed his method, changed it from round to square, whole into scatter, and changed into his own method. Judging from the pen of Chen Hongshou's "Nine Song Diagrams" in existence, most of them are thin and round, but there are also many square folds. His middle-aged painting of "Water Margin Leaves", the straight folding square pen has become its distinctive feature. The lines painted by the people of the Six Dynasties are long, drawn from top to bottom, so it is called neat. Chen Hongshou's lines become square, with turns, beginnings and ends, so they are scattered. However, in his later years, Chen returned to the thin circle of the Six Dynasties Gu and Lu Pen (details below). He began to come as if he had done the technique of the ancients, so he rejoiced; Later, it didn't seem to be like it, but it had its own new technique, so it was even more like.
Ming Chen Hongshou Water Margin leaves
Second, Chen Hongshou's "Self-Fu Perimeter History Painting" cloud:
I copied the circumferential history painting, and I did not want it again and again, and people said: "This matter has passed the week (more than the circumference history), and I still snort (regret), why not?" "That's why it's not enough." If my paintings are easy to see, they can not be done. Long history is inherently powerful, and if it is incompetent, it is difficult to do so. ”......
From this passage, it can be seen that Chen Hongshou copied the paintings of Zhou Changshi, which is the famous figure painter Zhou Fang of the Tang Dynasty, the character Jingyun, and the history of the official to Xuanzhou. Zhou Fang painted the character teacher Zhang Xuan, and later surpassed Zhang Xuan. He created the original "Water Moon Guanyin", which painted the Buddhist Guanyin Bodhisattva looking at the moon by the water, which is very novel, and there are many scholars, known as "Zhou Jia Style". Zhou Zuo painted "simple clothes, soft colors", "Fang paints women, mostly rich attitudes". Zhou Fang's "Lady with Hairpins", now preserved in the Liaoning Provincial Museum, has round, delicate lines, light and soft, and the women painted are obese, which is indeed similar to Chen Hongshou's paintings.
In fact, Chen Hongshou's paintings were most influenced by Zhou Fang's style. The paintings of Ming and Qing dynasty characters and ladies are all beautiful in thin and slender, and the characters painted by Duchen Hongshou are relatively fat, some are very fat, and there are very few who are not fat. At that time, some people ridiculed the woman he painted was too fat, and Chen Hongshou did not accept this opinion. According to Zhou Lianggong:
Jun Zaiyun: Zhang Xuan Gongshi female character, not to the right of Zhou Fang, has seen ten books in his life, all of them cooperate (boutique), painting women with Zhu Di ear roots, this is different, you must know. Yu Guo Fusha, Zhang Shi only makes Jun, with a roll of Xuan Shi Nu Huiyu, beautiful and fat, not only the root of the vermilion halo, but also the swallow branch (rouge) on the cheek, although the silk is broken (broken), the look is radiant. To show Chen Zhanghou, Yun: Non-Xuan Mo Office. And surprised: Jun often recalls Yu Nu is too fat, try to read this volume, Yu Ten fingers are more delicate.
Chen Hongshou saw that the ladies painted by Zhang Xuan were very fat, so he said: Look at Zhang Xuan's paintings, the ladies under me are much slender.
The former Central Academy of Arts and Crafts has Chen Hongshou's "Picture of a Lady in the Mirror" (silk book), and he knows himself: "Hong Shou is like (gifted) to Tian'er Society brother. "In the painting, a beautiful young woman admires herself in the mirror. The lines in the paintings are delicate, but they are different from the fine, round, and soft lines in his later works. The lines in the prime of life are basically fine, but there are still turns and changes in weight, and there is a strong and strong inside, which is not as ancient as the lines of the later years.
Ming Chen Hongshou Yang Sheng'an hairpin flower drawing Collection of the Palace Museum
Chen Hongshou's "Yang Sheng'an Hairpin Flower Drawing" (silk book) in the collection of the Palace Museum is obviously his meticulous work. In terms of style, it belongs to the same category as "Lady in the Mirror", but further, it is a work in his mid-prime. The main character in the painting, the prime-aged man wearing flowers, is Yang Shen (1488~1559). The lines of the characters in this picture are quite skillful, the painter always controls the pen in his hand, runs gently, concentrates on the essence, and focuses on everywhere, unlike the lines in the "Mirror Lady Drawing" that are different from light and heavy, rigid and soft, but as fine as spring silkworm spitting silk, the painter who lacks skill cannot control the pen to make it even, quiet, round and vigorous. The lines in this painting, although not yet as quaint and leisurely as the lines of his later years, are also very rare.
A masterpiece that goes further than the "Yang Sheng'an Hairpin Flower Drawing" is the "Xuanwen Jun Scripture Teaching Diagram" (silk book). This picture was made by Chen Hongshou when he was 41 years old to wish his aunt's birthday. In the picture, a noble lady (Xuanwenjun) sits in a high hall, nine disciples kneeling on the left and right, and nine maids under the hall tend to the sides. Above and in front of the hall are surrounded by white clouds, the big case barrier in the hall, the front and left and right sides of the steps are long pine giant trees, flowers and water stones, far and near, exquisitely arranged, the scene is grand, and the momentum is extraordinary. This is one of the most skillful masterpieces in Chen Hongshou's life. Its characters have wide robes and large sleeves, and various forms are exaggerated. White clouds are like a circle pattern of winding threads, solemn and decorative, except for the thin and square folds of the stone, the rest are like spring silkworms spitting silk, high ancient and round and delicate, surpassing the Tang and Song Dynasties, directly chasing the Six Dynasties and passing the skill. Chen Hongshou studied painting in the early years of the Tang and Song dynasties, easy to scatter, easy to square and easy to square, and now it has changed from square to circle and scattered to whole. Although the lines of the wide robe and large sleeves are long, they are all one to the end, without starting a new pen, without twisting, without pausing, and the energy connotation, the concentration is consistent, and there is no slackening, which is the most precious thing. Wei and Jin descended, and no one could pass it. It can be said that "Xuanwen Jun Teaching Scriptures" basically laid the foundation for his painting style in his later years.
Chen Hongshou only lived to be 55 years old, and the change of Jiashen (1644, the year of the fall of the Ming Dynasty) was a major turning point in his life, when he was 47 years old, and we will define the works after that as his later works. After Jia Shen, Chen Hongshou wrote "Lao Chi Hongshou" or the book "Lao Chi" and "Regret Chi" on most of his works.
Ming Jiaolin Wine Drinking Picture Ming Chen Hongshou Silk book color Tianjin Art Museum collection
Banana Forest Wine Drinking Chart Partial
Chen Hongshou's works in his later years are not only refined but also numerous. The "Banana Forest Wine Drinking Map" in the collection of Tianjin Art Museum is one of his masterpieces. In the painting, Coats drinks for himself under the plantain forest, and the two women in front of the stone case pick chrysanthemums and boil wine; A coffee table in the shape of a tree root on the right is quite eye-catching. This painting is a self-portrayal of Chen Hongshou's bitter mood in his later years, and there are many similar works. On the upper right of the painting, the self-written "Lao Chi Hongshou", two seals, one is "Chen Hongshou seal", and the other is "Zhang Hou". Chen Hongshou's figure paintings in his later years are consistent with his paintings of flowers and birds and landscapes. The line drawing of the characters is also basically the same as the "Xuanwen Jun Scripture Drawing", as thin as a gossamer, if you observe carefully, although it is also like a spring silkworm spitting silk, but the more you get to the old age, the softer and more ancient, and the richer the connotation. The lines of his middle-aged characters are thin and rigid, lacking the flexibility of his later years, and the lines of his clothes in his early middle-aged works are sometimes straight, and in his later years, they are changed to round. There is still a hard pen in the stone in the Xuanwen Jun Scripture Instruction, and in his later years this hard pen was completely eliminated. The stones in the "Banana Forest Wine Drinking Map" are the same as the stones in the "Jade Hall Pillar Stone Map" collected by the Palace Museum, outlined with a clear and thin line, although there are turns, but they are not hard or frustrated, and they are very soft. After the stone is hooked, it is no longer broken, let alone mossed, only a light layer of color, very light, but not thin.
Ming Chen Hongshou Miscellaneous Painting Album of Jade Hall Pillar Stone Map Collection of the Palace Museum
"Banana Forest Wine Drinking Map" has a high and ancient style, and the changes contained in the plain are more than before. His later works are broadly analogous. The picture of a woman pouring chrysanthemums into a jar sitting on a plantain leaf is quite interesting. Another of his works, He Tian Zhang Xingle Tu, shows a woman sitting on a plantain leaf in the same way.
Chen Hongshou's "Caged Goose Picture" in the collection of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum depicts the story of Wang Xizhi's love for geese, a great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. There is no background at all, and the upper right is self-titled "Fengxi Lao Chi Hongshou Painted in Shenliu Hall". It can be seen that this is Chen's work in his later years. The clothing lines of the characters in this picture are as ancient and round and delicate as those in Chen's other works, and because the characters are standing statues, long sleeves hanging down, and the lines are extraordinarily long, they appear particularly smooth, and the characters are also portrayed quite successfully. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi and other literati had a soothing temperament and soothing belts, and the painting depicted Wang Xizhi's temperament and the characteristics of soothing clothes and actions. And Wang Xizhi's elegant literary rhyme and the rhyme of the servants behind him are obviously different. The colors of Chen Hongshou's character paintings are generally very old, but in this picture, the robe is red and purple, and the fan is blue, both of which are deep and rare. The chubby character is one of the characteristics of Chen Hongshou's style, and these are worth noting.
Ming Chen Hongshou Caged goose picture Zhejiang Provincial Museum collection
There is another type of figure painting made by Chen Hongshou in his later years, that is, the strange and strange form. There are also two types of strange and strange forms, one is the common large head and short body; There is another kind that is only strange but not strange.
Ming Chen Hongshou Miscellaneous Painting Album of the Dragon Supplement Gontu Collection of the Palace Museum
Although his figure paintings have a certain deformation, the proportions are basically compatible. However, in the former type of figure painting with a large head and a short body, he deliberately exaggerated the proportions of the shape and was strange. A large set of Chen Hongshou's large albums in the collection of the Palace Museum includes a painting of "The Picture of the Dragon Repairing Gon", which depicts three young girls, the first of whom has a much larger head than her chest and arms, and the length of the girl (from head to toe) is only three and a half heads. Her head and body did not seem to be alone. The latter two girls are also large and short and disproportionate. In addition, the lines are thin and round, the colors are old, and the style is elegant, all of which are the same as other works.
Ming Chen Hongshou Miscellaneous Paintings Album cannot be said in the collection of the Palace Museum
In the same album, there is also "The Unspeakable", in which an old Buddha is depicted, sitting on a stone with a rattan staff, with a strange shape, although it is a sitting image, you can still see that the head is large and the body is small, and the person kneeling in front of the old Buddha to listen to the Dharma is also very strange. This picture may have been influenced by the painting of Buddha statues and arhat statues by the master of the Zen Moon of the Five Dynasties, and is a work of his deliberate transformation in order to amaze the world.
Chen Hongshou painted the most Tao Yuanming drawings in his lifetime, and the long scroll "Tao Yuanming's Return and Coming Map" painted before his death (53 years old) is the most meaningful.
This set of paintings embodies many of the characteristics of Chen Hongshou's paintings in his later years. One is that the head is large and short, but it is not exactly the same as the head and body of the characters in "Dragon Patching Gontu", and the head and body of the characters in "Dragon Patching Gontu" are not like a whole, as if one person's head is on the body of another person, which looks very awkward. In this set of pictures, although the heads are large and short, they are more fitted, and belong to the category of "Chen Hongshou painting characters, and the torso is great (burly and strong)" as Zhang Geng said. The second is that the lines are similar to other paintings of later years, but they are more loose and scattered (the effect of carelessness is called scattered) than the lines of the earlier years, and they are more sophisticated, and the colors are old.
Chen Hongshou's figure paintings matured earlier than his landscape and flower and bird paintings, and his figure paintings had already changed from "god" to "transformation" in their prime of life, and became more "transformed" in his later years. At the end of the "transformation", it has reached the pinnacle, and the furnace is pure and can no longer be surpassed.
2. The influence of Chen Hongshou painting on Japanese ukiyo-e painting
The maturity and great influence of Chen Hongshou's painting art coincided with the rise and prosperity of ukiyo-e in Japan. Japanese ukiyo-e painters claimed to have studied Chinese Tang Dynasty painting, but in fact, Japanese people rarely saw Tang Dynasty paintings at that time, and their painting method came entirely from Chen Hongshou, which can be seen at a glance from the comparison of paintings.
Mao Qiling's "Biography of Chen Laolian":
North Korea, Wuliangha, Japan, Samarkand, Usi Zang buy lotus paintings, which are worth it. Thousands of models in the sea are alive. Yongdong Yuan Que, poor as a bookkeeper of the foreign ship, Tibetan lotus painting two truncated bamboos, will return, the lord of Japan, the lord is very happy, give a banquet, and reward the beads. Also pass the mold pen also.
North Korea, Mongolia, Japan and other countries have purchased Chen Laolian's paintings, which are of high value. Thousands of families in China imitate Chen Hongshou's paintings (counterfeiting) for a living. Someone used a bamboo pole to hide two paintings of Chen Hongshou and presented them to the Japanese lord (the emperor of Japan), who was very happy and hosted a banquet and presented him with a bag of jewels. But these two paintings by Chen Hongshou are also facsimiles, not genuine works of Chen Hongshou.
It can be seen that the whole country in Japan worships Chen Hongshou's art.
In fact, Chen Hongshou's paintings are also learning from the Tang people, and Japanese ukiyo-e is known as learning from the Tang, but in fact, learning from Chen Hongshou, there are also similarities.
Ukiyo-e had a huge impact in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The success of world-class painters such as Van Gogh, Matisse, Monet, and Cézanne, as well as German expressionist painting, were influenced by ukiyo-e and Chinese painting. In fact, it was also successful in indirectly learning from Chen Hongshou. Here we can see the great influence of Chen Hongshou.
Chavatskaya, director of the USSR and later the Russian State Institute of Oriental Studies, said many times: "Chen Hongshou is the number one painter in China." The author once advised her to change to: "Chen Hongshou is the number one painter of the Ming Dynasty," and she said decisively: "No, Chen Hongshou is the number one painter in China." He is also the world's first-class great painter. ”
Third, the influence of Chen Hongshou's art on later generations
Chen Hongshou is an all-encompassing painter of figures, flowers, birds, and landscapes, and he has a position in the history of Chinese painting art. "Inheriting the past" is not unconventional, but has taken a new path in traditional Chinese painting, which has a long history, and achieved unprecedented artistic results; "Qihou" means that his artistic ideas and painting style not only influenced his contemporaries, but also had a great influence on later generations. The admiration and high praise of his predecessors, peers and juniors can be seen.
It is mentioned in the literature that "Nanchen and Northern Cui" represent the highest achievement of figure painting at that time. "Southern Chen" is Chen Hongshou, and "Northern Cui" refers to Cui Zizhong (1574~1644), the character Daomu, the number Qingworm, and the people of Laiyang, Shandong. Cui Zizhong is located in the north, and his overall style of figure painting is very consistent with Chen Laolian, that is, it has the same grotesque and decorative beauty. However, Cui Zizhong has more loyal ideas and less democratic ideas, so Chen and Cui have a big difference in the choice of subject matter. Reflected in the specific picture, Cui is more bookish than Chen Laolian, more restrained in deformation, and more decorative. In terms of overall achievements and influence, Cui Zizhong is far inferior to Chen Laolian, and far less impactful than Chen Laolian. The reason why "South Chen North Cui" is equally famous is because Cui Zizhong is about 25 years older than Chen Hongshou, which is older than Chen Hongshou's teacher, Cui Zizhong became famous earlier, and lived in Beijing, near the water platform, easy to know, and was a student of Dong Qichang. Dong Qichang was the emperor's teacher, holding an important position, landscape painting and painting theory were masters of a generation, and most of the important figures in the painting world at that time were his protégés. All painters who cast themselves under Dong Qichang are also easy to fame. Cui Zizhong has the above factors, so he is relatively famous. Of course, Cui Zizhong's paintings are still good, except for Chen Hongshou, there is no one who can compare with him. Chen Hongshou was not under Dong Qichang's door, and he disagreed with this generation of grandmasters, and seriously accused Dong Qichang and Chen Jiru in his painting theory. His fame and influence came entirely from his painting achievements, and "South Chen and North Cui" cannot actually be juxtaposed. The influence of "Northern Cui" on later generations is indeed far inferior to that of "Southern Chen".
Chen Hongshou's painting school was very large at that time, and Mao Qilingyun: "There are thousands of models in the sea who live." "There are thousands of people who copy and study his paintings in Hainai, and there are thousands of people who sell them for a living, which shows how many scholars and how many people needed his paintings at that time, and even although Chen Hongshou painted bamboo when he was 22 years old was very sloppy, some later famous people were still willing to exchange white horses with collectors. Volume 2 of the Continuation of the Treasure Book of Pictures also records:
Chen Hongshou... Talented, erudite and drinkable, heroic and uninhibited, with a great flavor of Jinren. Can write and paint, flowers and birds, all exquisite, middle-aged into a family, ingenious, changeable, people can not reach. After the poems were drunk, the calligraphy and painting were in a hurry, the fame was popular, and there were many scholars.
Chen Hongshou's paintings had an even greater influence on later generations, and figure paintings in the early and late Qing Dynasty, tracing the old lotus painting method, were once popular. During the Shunzhi and Kangxi dynasties of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Hongshou's concubine Hu Jingxi, son Chen Xiaolian, daughter Chen Daoyun, and students Yan Zhan, Lu Xin, Wei Xiang, Ding Shu, Wang Wei, Sima Li, Shen Wuji, Zhu Tianqi, etc., were able to inherit his painting style and had a certain reputation in the art world. The ensuing Yongzheng, Qianlong period Wang Shuyu and Luo Liangfeng can melt the old lotus painting method and create a new look.
Chen Hongshou's concubine Hu Jingfu, her paintings of flowers, birds, and insects are very wonderful. At that time, many literati recorded her paintings and were amazed. Wang Shizhen, the leader of the literary circle of the Qing Dynasty, in his book "Chibei Occasional Talks", included a section on "Beauty Xiu Painting", remembering Hu Jingxiu (original note: Chen Hongshou's concubine), "grass, insects, flowers and birds, all into wonderful products".
Chen Xiaolian Narcissus Birthday Wish Map (partial) Shaoxing Museum collection
Among Chen Hongshou's children, those who are famous for painting include his eldest daughter Chen Daoyun and fourth son Chen Xiaolian. Chen Xiaolian's landscapes, figures, flowers, birds, and calligraphy resemble her father's. At that time, people regarded Xiaolian's paintings as old lotuses. Xiaolian's paintings still survive, and the Zhejiang Provincial Museum has Xiaolian's "Snow Scene Figure Drawing" and the scroll of the line, the book is absolutely similar to her father, and the painting is based on her father's middle-aged brushwork. Chen Hongshou's paintings use ancient methods, and ancient paintings are mostly painted on silk, so Xiaolian's paintings are also painted on silk. And Xiaolian's picture on paper does not seem to be her masterpiece, but it is Xiaolian's early work. Tianjin Art Museum has Xiaolian's "Three Teachings Map", which depicts Laozi (the ancestor of Taoism), Confucius (the ancestor of Confucianism), and Shakyamuni (the ancestor of Buddhism) standing together, so it is called the "Three Teachings Map". Looking at its character shape, it is completely from the old lotus, but the quaintness is insufficient, the clothing line is learned from the old lotus's strong pen, and it is carefully and neatly tidied, but it is not round and delicate. Of course, although Xiaolian's painting is mastered by her father, it still has a certain personal spiritual outlook, and this picture was Xiaolian's middle-aged work. The "Luohan Diagram" painted by Chen Xiaolian in the "Chen Laolian Chen Zi Father and Son Collection" collected by Weng Wango in the United States is a late work of learning from her father, with a strange image, round and delicate lines, and a high style, no less than her father. Among them, "Landscape Map" is also Xue Lao Lian's early works, all of which are very similar. When it is Xiaolian's mature work.
Chen Xiaolian Doumeitu (detail) Collection of Tsinghua University Art Museum
Xiaolian's mature works are almost the same as her father's mature works, which can be called the second Lao Lian, so Xiaolian's paintings are recorded in various painting history documents. Xiaolian occupies a high position in the history of painting and is one of the important painters in the Chen Hongshou School.
Chen Hongshou's disciples had high achievements and were among the historians of painting, and the first to enter the house were Lu Xin, Zi Shanzi, and Shanyin people. The good character of flowers and birds, the whole master Chen Hongshou, the painting is almost indistinguishable from Lao Lian. Many of Chen Hongshou's forgeries are from his hands, and no one can distinguish them. His paintings have been passed down very little, because many of them were sold with Chen Hongshou's name after they were made. The Zhejiang Museum has a scroll of his "Drunken Yintu" (this picture was published in Yiyuan Huoying, No. 18, page 12, Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, October 1982, silk book, coloring, 114×45.8cm), depicting a child and three adults singing after drunkenness. The shape, line outline, and inscription of the characters are very similar to his teacher. However, when handling the pen, there is a slight pause, and there is no effort like Lao Lian. However, it is also more fluid and casual, and it is interesting. According to legend, Chen Hongshou's paintings in his later years have a slight pause in brushwork and appear to be flowing and casual, which may be the work of Lu Shanzi. Chen Hongshou's lines are particularly quiet and stable.
Chen Hongshou's most proud disciple Yan Zhan, the character Shuizi, the good character Hua Bird, "his skills do not let the teacher." Chen Hongshou's proud works are also often called Yan Shuizi to color. Lao Lian once inscribed Shuizi "Spring and Autumn Map" cloud: "Hong Shou is old, the characters are together, and Shuizi is attentive." "The masterpiece "He Tianzhang Xingle Tu" in the collection of the Suzhou Museum is a collaboration between Chen Hongshou, Yan Shuizi and Li Wansheng. The Zhejiang Provincial Museum has Yan Zhan's "Appreciation Map" axis, which depicts a young girl playing the piano under a big pine tree, and a man and a beautiful woman admiring it opposite. The color setting with the pen is all like his master, but the background part of the tree stone painting technique is slightly inferior. Yan Zhan was quite famous at that time, and he was mentioned in many poetry collections of literati, which can be described as famous in the history of painting.
There are still many disciples of Chen Hongshou, and only in the book "Yue Painting Sights and Stories" there are: Sima Ziyu, Lu Zengxi, Luo Kun, Ding Shu, Lai Lüqian (Chen Hongshou's wife and brother), Shen Wuji, Zhu Tianqi, Shang Zhishuo, etc. "Yue Painting Observations" records that the painter was limited to one place in Vietnam, and there were many omissions. There are many painters who have a certain position in the history of painting by Chen Hongshou, a teacher of other documents, not limited to Vietnam and China. I will not go into detail here.
Luo Ping's "Golden Agricultural Statue Axis" Shaoxing Museum collection
Examining the history of painting behind Chen Hongshou, there is no shortage of painters who have gained a certain reputation in the painting circle. Luo Ping, one of the "Eight Monsters of Yangzhou" in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, had hundreds of teachers in his early years, and Chen Hongshou in his later years, so his paintings also resembled Lao Lian. I once saw Luo Ping's "Meng Haoran Portrait Axis" in Jing Yuanzhai of the University of California, and I would mistake it for Chen Hongshou's work from a distance. Luo Bing became famous throughout the country because he studied under Chen Hongshou, whose painting style was higher than ordinary, making him the most important painter in the later period of the "Eight Monsters of Yangzhou".
In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou was the center of the painting world. In the late Qing Dynasty, Shanghai became an important city of painting. Chen Hongshou can be described as the distant ancestor of the Hai School figure painting. Among them, Ren Xiong, Ren Kaoru, and Ren Yi are known as the "three rens on the sea", and sometimes Ren Xiong's son Ren Xuan is known as the "four rens", the most famous.
Ren Xiong (1820~1857), a native of Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, with the character Wei Chang and the name Xiangpu. He often travels to Shanghai and Suzhou to sell paintings. His paintings are started by Chen Hongshou, and he has been copying them for a long time, and he can get the essence of old lotus paintings. The Nanjing Museum has Ren Xiong's copy of Chen Hongshou's "Lady Picture" axis, drawing a fan lady, no background, self-titled on the upper left: "Xiannian Yi (1855) On the third day of the Qingming Dynasty, Wei Changxiong and Zhang Hou were originally in Bishanqi. "It can be seen that Ren Xiong was still copying Chen Hongshou's paintings two years before his death. Generally speaking, his paintings resemble Chen Hongshou's works in his prime. Ren Xiong's paintings by Chen Hongshou are accentuated and enriched in terms of color, thus forming a personal appearance. But his personal outlook is obviously developed on the basis of Chen Hongshou. Ren Xiong learned from Chen Hongshou everywhere, and his characters grew up in flowers, birds, landscapes, and woodcut character paintings, which were handed down to "Liexian Wine Brand", "The Legend of Gao Shi", "The Legend of Yuyue Ancestors", "The Legend of the Sword Hero", and "The Legend of the Continuation of the Sword". Some books are engraved moment after moment. In the year of Guangxu (1886), the Shanghai Tongshu Bureau photocopied "Four Paintings of Mr. Ren Weichang". In 1985, the Beijing China Bookstore reprinted it again according to the Guangxu edition. In 1987, Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House published a set of "Liexian Wine Brand". It can be seen that Ren Xiong's woodcuts are all from Chen Hongshou's prints, and the lines are very deep. His personal style, like his scroll paintings, is varied and added on the basis of Chen Hongshou. Ren Xiong is not only the most influential painter in the "Four Terms", but also in the Shanghai School, and one of the most influential painters in the country.
Ren Kaoru Confucius Statue Axis Xiaoshan Museum Collection
Ren Xiong's brother Ren Xuan (1836~1893), the character Fu is long, the painting was influenced by Ren Xiong, and he also learned Chen Hongshou, and his level was no less than Chen Hongshou. It's just that the impact is not as big as Ren Xiong.
When it came to Ren Yi, the sea school was prosperous. Ren Yi (1840~1896) character Bo Nian, ancestral home in Shanyin, Zhejiang, born in Xiaoshan. He was a student of Ren Xiong. Ren Yi's paintings also learned from Chen Hongshou, but he made a living selling paintings and painted very quickly, so he liked to use nail-headed and rat-tail lines and learned too much Chen Hongshou's middle-aged painting methods. But Ren Yi's serious paintings are quite skillful, and they are closer to Chen Hongshou. Ren Yi's flower and bird characters all studied Chen Hongshou, but also studied in other families, and attached great importance to sketching, forming a personal painting style with a fresh style, fresh and bright, and vivid and lively. He became the most famous and representative painter of the Hai School after succeeding Xiong. Ren Yi had a great influence on later generations (and up to now) paintings.
Xie Zhiliu, a famous contemporary Shanghai painter, has also studied with Chen Hongshou since childhood. Back then, he was an "old lotus fan". His early and middle-aged paintings can all be seen in traces of Chen Hongshou. Xie Zhiliu's name is also exactly opposite to Lao Lian (稚柳一老龙). In addition, he is one of the earliest scholars to study Chen Hongshou in modern times.
Chen Hongshou's paintings not only nurtured countless upper-class painters, but also sponsored countless folk painters. Zhang Shan in the early Qing Dynasty said: "Chen Zhanghou's "Water Margin", in recent years, it is like a picturesque lamp, like a small screen on the seat, all taken as a manuscript. ”
For more than 300 years, Chen Hongshou's paintings have been radiating a strange brilliance in the Chinese painting circle. In particular, his paintings laid the foundation for the largest school of modern Chinese painting, the Shanghai School. The influence of the Haipai has spread throughout the country to this day. Even as far as the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, France and other countries and Southeast Asia.
Chen Hongshou's paintings are collected in major museums in China and have become one of China's national treasures. Moreover, some large museums in Europe, the United States, Japan and many countries in Southeast Asia also have many collections and become their treasures. Professor Kei Suzuki of Japan included 41 sets of Chen Hongshou's works collected by Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries in the "General Catalogue of Chinese Paintings" (including scrolls, scrolls, and 12 albums and prints), but this statistic is very incomplete. Some of the Chen Hongshou paintings I have seen in the United States have not yet been counted. As for the paintings of the painters of the Chen Hongshou School, there are even more.
Chen Hongshou is not only one of China's greatest painters, but also has a high status in the world art scene. With the deepening of scholars' research and the improvement of people's aesthetic ability from all over the world, there is no doubt that Chen Hongshou's artistic status will become higher and higher.
August 2022 at Chinese Minmin University
(This article is provided by Shaoxing Museum, originally titled "The Art and Influence of Chen Hongshou", edited by The Paper at the time of publication.) ）