Lü Ji, Zi Tingzhen, No. Leyu, a native of Yinxian County, Zhejiang (Ningbo, Zhejiang). Ming Hongzhi Xin You's front and back offered to renzhi hall, and received the title of commander of the Jinyi guard. Famous for its flower and bird paintings, its flower and bird paintings were first studied by Bian Wenjin, and were also influenced by Lin Liang's ink painting method, and later came to the famous relics of the Tang and Song dynasties, so they became one of their own and walked alone in the contemporary era. "Birds such as phoenixes, cranes, peacocks, mandarin ducks, etc., all have the law, set up bright colors, and are full of vitality", is a writer who strictly abides by the laws and regulations of painting in the painting academy. Whenever he "undertakes to make a painting", he always "intends to enter the rules" and wins the praise of Filial Piety. He was a master who influenced the entire Ming Dynasty courtyard sports painting circle during the heyday of the development of flower and bird painting.
《Guiju Mountain Bird Diagram》
(Ming) Lü Ji
Color on silk 192×107cm
Collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing
Lü Ji's painting style has two faces: in the early years, it was fine in the style of Bian Jingzhao, with a gong pen to set colors, and later influenced by Lin Liang, gradually set up a bold ink and light color, and in some paintings, there were also paintings that combined the heavy color of the brush and the freehand of ink. Its work is heavy and colorful, and its exquisite craftsmanship is rich, and it is painted with phoenix cranes, peacocks, mandarin ducks and the like, supplemented by the background of tree slope stones and beaches, which are both legal and full of vitality. He also occasionally paints landscapes and figures. His technical contributions to the ming dynasty courtyard body flower and bird painting are mainly reflected in the combination of the gorgeous painting of the courtyard body painting and the artistic conception of the literati painting. He has more than 40 surviving works, and is one of the painters with more surviving works in the Ming Dynasty.
Lü Ji is based on the inheritance of the Tang and Song traditions, there are rich changes to rough and refined, take its neat and fine, and remove its wilted and feminine characteristics. On the basis of the previous drawing of a large scale, and the composition is full, the elements depicted in the picture are flexible and vivid, often the flowers, birds, trees, mountain springs, slope stones are unified and harmoniously placed in the picture, and the expression techniques are good at using labor and writing to depict flowers, birds and extensive wood and stone environments, so that the whole picture looks magnificent and dignified. In terms of composition, it highlights the subject, and is good at cutting, paying attention to the contrast between the virtual and the real of the picture and taking into account the echo.
There are about 43 surviving works by Lü Ji and 9 works with thick brushes and ink paintings. In this category of freehand works, Lü Ji paints wild trees and flowers and birds, such as: reeds, aquatic plants, wild geese, eagle falcons, ancient trees, etc., full of wild and majestic feelings, which are very different from the neat and rich brush flower and bird paintings. Lü Ji's pen and ink performance, in his works we can find that these paintings of his are thick and thin, combined with thickness and thinness, and unrestrained, see fine outline and rigorous modeling, majestic but not losing the degree of law, both shape and quality. His works pay attention to writing gods in shape, flowers and birds are outlined finely, and the background is rough and strong with pens, so that through the expression of foiling, contrast and coordination, the main body of birds is well highlighted, and the effect of full attention is achieved.
"Four Seasons of Flowers and Birds - Spring"
Part of "Four Seasons Of Flowers and Birds - Spring"
"Four Seasons of Flowers and Birds - Summer"
"Four Seasons of Flowers and Birds - Autumn"
Part of "Four Seasons Flower and Bird Diagram - Autumn"
"Four Seasons of Flowers and Birds - Winter"