Wen Shu

Wen Shu or Wen Chu (Chinese: 文俶; 1595-1634) was a Chinese illustrator and painter who worked under the art name Hanshan and was known for her paintings of flora and small insects during the Ming dynasty.[1] She is considered the finest flower painter of the period.[2]

For the Jin dynasty general, see Wen Yang (Three Kingdoms).
In this Chinese name, the family name is Wen.
Wen Shu
Beautiful day with rocks, by Wen
Born
Wen Shu

1595
Suzhou, Wu (region), China
Died1634(1634-00-00) (aged 38–39)
NationalityChinese
EducationWen Congjian
Known forPainting, illustration
MovementWu School

Her work was popular at the time, and consistently sells well at auction. Her painting Rising Early in the Spring to Lament Flowers (1631) was sold at Christie's New York on 16 September 2015 for US$413,000, four times its estimate.[3]

Life

Wen Shu was the great-granddaughter of Wen Zhengming, a leading Ming dynasty painter of the Wu School whose family were also highly respected in the movement.[4][5] Her father was Wen Conjian, a landscape painter, and taught both his children to paint from a young age. Her brother, Wen Ran, was a calligrapher and landscape painter.[6]

Wen Shu married Zhao Yun who was a student of her father and a member of the House of Zhao. They lived a reclusive life in a villa close to the Hanshan Temple outside Suzhou, in an area noted for its natural beauty.[7][6] They had one child, a daughter called Zhou Zhou, and adopted a male cousin of Zhao in order to continue the male line.[6]

Most of Wen Shu's surviving art is dated 1626 or later. This is after Zhao Yun's father died and the family's fortunes declined, so it is likely that Wen Shu turned to commercial art production in order to maintain her family's lifestyle.[8][6] One critical essay suggests this is because Zhao Yun was unwilling to work but this is not supported by other sources.[1] She was sought out as a tutor by both married women and girls in the gentry.[1][6]

After Zhao Jun died in 1640, Wen Shu's daughter Zhao Zhao collected the biographical information on both her parents for the tomb inscription.[6]

Work
Painting of Flowers and Bird, collection of the Shanghai Museum

Wen Shu worked under the pen-name Hanshan, among others, and in a range of formats. She painted hanging scrolls, fan paintings and illustration. Her primary subjects were flowers and wildlife as unwritten rules on suitable subjects for women painters meant women rarely painted landscapes.[8] Wen Shu may have chosen flora in particular for their commercial aspect as new paintings of flowers were in demand.[9] This is supported by the fact her work seldom carries poems or dedications: the absence of these is an indicator of work for commercial clients.[8]

Style

Wen Shu focused on a few essential elements in the composition presented against a plain background. This style means the eye is drawn to the brushwork and pale colours displayed. Her approach is seen as intimate rather than showy, with a careful composition that often frames glimpses of delicate flowers with rough rocks. This composition echoes the popular garden layouts of her time.

This approach can be seen in her fan painting, 'Carnations and Garden Rock' of 1627, which uses a limited palette and only two elements for the composition.[10] She is noted for an attention to detail, even when she was using the mogu (boneless) technique.

Reception

Her professional work was sufficiently popular that she trained female assistants to help with the workload. For the collection 'Pattern of Plants and Insects by Hanshan' she produced one illustration a day for one thousand days. During her lifetime, other artists would produce forgeries of her work.[1] One collector suggested her flower paintings were the equal of Qiu Zhu, an earlier female professional painter.[6]

Legacy

Wen Shu's style is reflected in work by later artists, such as Yun Shouping.[1] She was cited in inscriptions and seals by later female artists.[5] Chinese art critic Wang Wenzhi, writing in the 1700s, asserted that Wen Shu's work was so special and sensitive that it could not be duplicated by a man and cited Luo Qilan and Wang Yuyan (painter) as her artistic descendants. Other artistic descendants include Li Hui, Guo Shu and Yuan Lan.[5]

In 1994, the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature approved naming a crater on Venus Wen Shu after her.[11]

Paintings
  • Insects, Birds and Butterflies (1626). Album of twelve leaves, painting on silk.
  • Insects, Birds and Flowers. Album of twelve leaves, painting on silk.[12]
  • Carnations and Garden Rock (1627). Fan painting.
  • Lily, Narcissus, and Garden Rock (1627). Hanging scroll.
  • Playing Butterflies (1630). Hand scroll.
  • Rising Early in the Spring to Lament Flowers (1631). Hanging scroll.
  • Flowers and Birds in the Style of the Song Court (1631). Ink on silk.
  • Flowers and Butterflies (1632). Hanging scroll.
  • Grasshopper and Flowers (1633). Fan painting.

References
  1. "Wen Shu, 1595-1634". Artibus Asiae. 53 (1/2): 259–261. 1993. JSTOR 3250518.
  2. Kleiner, Fred S. (2009). Gardner's Art through the Ages: Non-Western Perspectives. Cengage Learning. p. 82. ISBN 978-0495573678. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  3. "Fine Chinese Paintings". Christie's. Retrieved 27 June 2019.; Sale 3765, "Fine Chinese Paintings", New York, Lot 403, 16 September 2015.
  4. Rawson, Jessica (1992). British Museum Book of Chinese Art. British Museum Press. p. 340. ISBN 9780714124469.
  5. Weidner, Marsha (1988). "Women in the History of Chinese Painting". In Weidner, Marsha (ed.). Views from Jade Terrace: Chinese women artists, 1300-1912. Indianapolis Museum of Art. ISBN 0847810038.
  6. Johnston Laing, Ellen (1988). "Wives, Daughters, and Lovers: Three Ming Dynasty Women Painters". In Weidner, Marsha (ed.). Views from Jade Terrace: Chinese women artists, 1300-1912. pp. 31-39. ISBN 0847810038.
  7. Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Wiles, Sue (2014). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Tang Through Ming, 618-1644. M.E. Sharpe. p. 444. ISBN 9780765643162. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  8. Clunas, Craig (2009). Art in China (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 159. ISBN 9780199217342.
  9. Smith Weidner, Marsha (1990). Flowering in the shadows : women in the history of Chinese and Japanese painting. University of Hawaii Press. p. 147. ISBN 9780824811495. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  10. Weidner, Marsha (1988). "Flowers from the Garden". In Weidner, Marsha (ed.). Views from Jade Terrace : Chinese women artists, 1300-1912. Indianapolis Museum of Art. pp. 53-65. ISBN 0847810038.
  11. "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Wen Shu on Venus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  12. Christie's, Hong Kong, Sale 12550, "Fine Chinese Classical Paintings & Calligraphy", Lot 903. Sold for HKD 525,000
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