Ren Yi (; 1840–1896), also known as Ren Bonian, was a painter and son of a rice merchant who supplemented his income by doing portraits. He was born in
Zhejiang
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, image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg
, image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains
, image_map = Zhejiang i ...
, but after the death of his father in 1855 he lived in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
. This move placed him in a more urban world that was exposed to Western thinking. In Shanghai he became a member of the
Shanghai School
''Haipai'' (, Shanghainese: ''hepha'', ; literally " hangai style") refers to the avant-garde but unique "East Meets West" culture from Shanghai in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is a part of the culture of Shanghai.
Etymology
The term was coi ...
which fused popular and traditional styles. Ren Bonian ranked with
Ren Xiong
Ren Xiong (; courtesy name: Weichang 渭長, also known as Xiangpu 湘浦; art name: Bushe 不捨; July 19, 1823 – November 23, 1857) was a Chinese painter from Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, active during the late Qing dynasty
The Qing dyn ...
,
Ren Xun
Ren Xun (; ca. 1835–1893) was a Chinese painter during the Qing Dynasty.
Ren was born in Xiaoshan in Zhejiang province. Ren came from a family of artists, his brother was Ren Xiong. His paintings were primarily of human figures, done in th ...
and
Ren Yu Ren or REN may refer to:
Abbreviations
* Orenburg Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia
* Raw Egg Nationalist, British far-right influencer
* Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese energy company
* ''Renanthera'', abbreviated a ...
as the "Four Rens."
He was noted for his bold brushstrokes and use of color. In his earlier career the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
painters influenced him, but later on he favored a freer style influenced by the works of
Zhu Da
Zhu Da (), also known by his pen name Bada Shanren (), was a late-Ming and early-Qing dynasty Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet. He was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi, in 1626, at during the Ming-Qing Transition. Zhu was mentally ill and disp ...
.
Gallery
File:'Portrait of Gao Yong's Wife', ink on paper by Ren Yi (1840-1896), 1886, Honolulu Academy of Arts.jpg, ''Portrait of Gao Yong's Wife'' by Rèn Yi, 1886, Honolulu Museum of Art
The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...
File:Ren Bonian - Playing the Flute - Walters 35101C.jpg, ''Playing the Flute'', 1860–80, Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...
Sources
*''Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum Oxford'' (132)
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
References
External links
Ren Bonian on China Online MuseumArtfact articleRen Bonian - ''Swallows and Plantain''
1840 births
1896 deaths
Artists from Shaoxing
Painters from Zhejiang
19th-century Chinese painters
{{China-painter-stub