Zhang Lu’s picture of female immortals playing flute

[Zhang Lu’s Painting of Female Fairies in the Flute]

The Painting of Female Fairies in the Flute, Ming Dynasty, Zhang Lu’s painting, silk edition, ink brush, 141.3 cm vertically and 91.8 cm horizontally
Signature: “Pingshan.” Seal “Zhang Lu”
The picture shows a young girl sitting under the pines on the shore of the river, playing flute for fun. The melodious sound of the flute and the surging sound of the waves compose a rhythmic and flexible movement. The huge peaches beside the girl point out that it is a fairyland and fairyland, adding a few illusory feelings to the picture. The image of the girl in the picture is significantly different from that of the goddess of Luo in Gu Kaizhi’s paintings or the fairy in the murals of the Tang Dynasty in Mogao Grottoes. She has a plump face, a high nose and big eyes, and a plain image. She lacks the appearance of thin bones and clear images of fairies and the elegant and refined manner; The body is plump and plump, and lacks the lightness of immortal body; He is wearing a large coarse cloth clothes, and lacks a fluttering belt. She has a strong flavor of life, just like a rural woman, which shows the natural beauty of women on earth
The painting methods of the characters in the picture are expressed in different thickness of ink. The face is outlined with a fine center pen, with fine and smooth lines. The clothing pattern is bold and forthright with the pen, and the lines are square and sharp, full of changes in color, disease and delay. It can be seen from Zhang Lu’s free and fast brushwork that, on the basis of inheriting the freehand tradition of Wu Daozi in the Tang Dynasty and Liang Kai in the Song Dynasty, he followed the painting style of Wu Wei of his contemporaries, and his brushwork became more unrestrained, As Jiang Shaoshu’s “History of Silent Poetry” recorded in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Lu “painted Wu Xiaoxian in a cursory way, but his brushwork is absolutely vigorous, but his elegant place is far inferior to that of a small immortal.” Xu Qin’s “Ming Painting Record” also recorded Zhang Lu: “Chuan Wei’s method of painting characters, although less elegant, is quite powerful and impressive. Hongzhi’s name is inferior to Yu Wei.” Compare Zhang Lu’s representative figure painting with Wu Wei’s “Spring Painting of Wuling”, It is true that Zhang Lu’s skillful brushwork lacks Wu Wei’s elegance and elegance.