Courtesy Name: Shiying, Ciweng
Sobriquet: Lufu, Xiaoxian
Born in Jiangxia, Hubei province 1459, passed in 1508.
He was born into nobility as his family was made up of scholars and officials however he decided to pursue painting.
He worked as a professional painter and was summoned to work as a court painter in Beijing for three of the emperors (Chenghua, Hongzhi and Zhengde emperor.)
He was known as a landscape painter and was greatly inspired but Dai Jin
Celebration at the Fishing Village (ink and colour on paper)
In this painting, it was a more expressive brushstroke technique, even to say abstract in the era, the culture of painting. The sketchy and messy strokes bring out a very loud, raw and if interpreted based on the title, celebratory vibe. Joyous and free strokes of ink create a nice and easygoing spirited scenery. The patterns, shapes and forms of nature and forestation shape and structure the scenery of the painting, surrounding and providing the backdrop for the area of celebration. For this painting of Wu Wei I would say it may have been more of a deliberate quick sketch in which he wished to capture. This type of style and brush technique was not extremely common in the landscape and scenery painting scene during this period.
However, the representation of emotion and celebration through his technique, if purposefully done, conveyed the ambience he wished to have depicted.
Strolling on a Willow Bank (Hanging scroll, ink on silk)
In this work, if compared to Celebration at the Fishing Village, this one would be less expressive based on the artistic concept of abstractness. It showcases a scholar standing by a willow tree with his hands together, which was a practice of mannerism back in Dynasty China. His servant stands behind him holding a sort of plank of wood crouching, lowering himself as a respect to his master. The scenery depicted here creates a sort of peace and calm emptiness, with the bare branches of the willow tree and the distant trees upon the mountain. As the scholar is lost in his thoughts, pondering, we are left with unanimous feeling as we glance upon the scenery Wu Wu was trying to illustrate.
The values of his painting in the illustration of the mountain create a scene of mist. A pair of birds can be seen in the distance in the mist. A tranquil scenery Wu Wei has depicted in this painting.
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