Map Axis of Wen Biren’s Pan the Taihu Lake Lake

[Wen Biren’s Map Axis of Pan the Taihu Lake Lake]

The Map Axis of Pan Taihu Lake, Ming Dynasty, painted by Wen Biren, paper-based, color setting, 60.5 cm vertically and 41.6 cm horizontally
This picture is signed with the seal of “Five Peaks Man”
This picture was made in the third year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1569), when Wen was 68 years old. The picture depicts the scenery seen from Xukou’s boat ride on the Taihu Lake Lake. The composition adopts the “Pingyuan Method” in the “Three Distances Method” of ancient Chinese painting. Chinese painters seek to express their minds and spirits for the landscape. Even when taking the actual mountains and rivers as the topic, they are not restricted to the mechanical description of vision. The composition of “Pingyuan” in this painting is true and natural, focusing on the vast water surface, which is different from Wen’s usual layout of overlapping and filling, highlighting the vastness of the Taihu Lake Lake. This way of composition highlights the theme perfectly and shows a clear and remote artistic conception. The simple and elegant colors are the typical style of the literary school painting. In terms of pen and ink performance, the painter takes Wen Zhengming’s fine strokes as the base, catching up with Wang Meng, and the mountains and stones are sketched and stained with dry brush, which is fine and meticulous, and has strong personal style characteristics, and is the best work of Wen Bolen.