Courtesy Name: Wenqing, Wenchang
Pseudonym : Tianchi Shanren (The Mountain Man of the Heavenly Pond) and Qingteng Daoshi (Resident of the Green Vine House)
Qingteng and Baiyang
Xu Wei and Chen Chun were known together as their titles. They were known for their skills in the sketching style of birds and flowers and were highly appreciated for their work.
Born 1521 Shanying district (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province.) He passed in 1593.
Xu Wei was a Ming Chinese painter, poet, calligrapher and dramatist. Xu Wei came from a background of a lot of turmoil and suffering. Due to his connections to an arrested General, he became fearful and negative. He was mentally distraught and attempted suicide nine times. This imbalance caused him to become very paranoid and led to the murder of his wife. It was thought that Xu Wei most likely suffered from Bipolar Disorder.
He spent most of his life painting and had a very expressive form of style and artistic implication. His way of painting held no regard for the traditional style of painting. His skill for poems and calligraphy was also something he greatly devoted time to practice. His works were often classified as a breakdown of orthodoxy.
I would say the state of his mental health was what led him to have such styles of expression artistically. He may have felt emotions stronger and through the turmoil, he had experienced in his past, he created and painted with stronger emotions.
Miscellaneous plants (Handscroll ink on paper)
This piece contains much expressive Control of brush strokes yet is able to convey and relate the structure of each form. Technique wise, Xu Wei is my favourite artist amongst the ones I have researched. The hidden emotion and exasperated strokes of feelings just feel stronger with his painting.
The various ink blotches in the different varying leaf structures and forms. The burst of energy and emotions within each form. It is obvious that Xu Wei does not have a detailed technique yet with each somewhat ‘messy’ and outburst of strokes he has painted the different flowers and plants. As I glance at this painting repeatedly, I am just hit by a continuous amount of different emotions, wondering what he was feeling as he painted this piece. How did he envision it so? It doesn't seem much compared to the many detailed beautiful pieces, but his expressionism is one that stands out from the many other Ming painters. His approach to this unorthodox painting style was not easily spotted during that era’s art scene.
Xu Wei stepped away from the structure of scenery paintings and replicas of nature. Adding his own style and devoting his emotions to his works.
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