Courtesy Name: Tianshu
Pseudonym : Xiu Waishi “Unofficial Historian of the West Lake”
Born 1585 Qiantang (now Hangzhou) and passed 1664
Lan Ying painted landscapes, human figures, flowers and birds. Lan Ying was regarded by critics as one of the last professional painters who worked in the style of the Zhe School which was led by Dai Jin.
The influences of the Yuan Literati style along with the study of the Wu Schoolmaster Shen Zhou, Lan Ying developed an elegant style of his own. He adapted the styles and had a distinct style of painting. I would like to say he did partake in some influence from western painters with the way he handles his brush.
White clouds and red trees (Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk)
Lan Ying had a more expressionistic approach with colour choice yet his technique consisted of the philosophy of the Zhe School. The Zhe School practised and was greatly influenced by the Southern Song style, yet the artistic philosophy they had was the Ma Xia style of painting. The creation of space and vastness. To do this, Lan Ying uses this blank space to create the shape of the clouds as they connect into the sky, creating this large entity that fills the rest of the painting.
Lan Ying uses luminescent green and blue to fill in the colour of the mountain. An odd colour choice for the painting at a large, yet this helped defined the structure and shape of the mountain. The colours of the leaves on the trees are also quite sporadic, with red, dark green, pastel green, white, blue and a light pastel blue. With the many different unusual colours, it would be nice to think that Lan Ying had painted an almost mystical scenery he had thought of. At the lower section of the painting stands a scholar and his staff as he crosses the bridge into the colourful forest. A waterfall flows into the valley below him, hidden behind the clouds. The different spaces he has created hide the full structures of the mountains and trees. Creating this illusion of mystery and feeling of transience. A truly interesting magical piece altogether.
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