Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty
Encyclopedia
The Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty is a name used to collectively describe the four Chinese
painters Huang Gongwang
, Wu Zhen
, Ni Zan
, Wang Meng
active in the Yuan Dynasty
(1271–1368). They worked during the Yuan period and were revered during the Ming Dynasty
and later periods as major exponents of the tradition of “literati painting” (wenrenhua), which was concerned more with individual expression and learning than with outward representation and immediate visual appeal.
Two of the “Four Masters” were Huang Gongwang
and Wu Zhen
, who, being of the earlier generation of artists in the Yuan, [more] consciously emulated the work of ancient masters, especially those pioneering artists of the Five Dynasties period, such as Dong Yuan
and Juran
, who rendered landscape in a broad, almost Impressionistic manner, with coarse brushstrokes and wet ink washes. While these painters were also revered by the two younger Yuan masters, the restrained thinness of Ni Zan
and the almost embroidered richness of Wang Meng could not be more different from the work of the older Yuan masters.
Thus, with the "Four Masters", all of whom were noted for their lofty personal and aesthetic ideals, the art of landscape painting shifted from an emphasis on close representation of nature to a personal expression of nature's qualities. They spurred experimentation with novel brushstroke techniques, with a new attention to the vocabulary of brush manipulation.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
painters Huang Gongwang
Huang Gongwang
Huáng Gōngwàng was a painter born during the late Song Dynasty in Changshu, Jiangsu. He is the oldest of the "four great masters of the Yuan." After serving as an official he acted as a Taoist priest. He spent his last years in the Fu-ch'un mountains near Hangzhou devoting himself to Taoism. It...
, Wu Zhen
Wu Zhen
Wu Zhen was a painter during the Yuan dynasty of China. He followed the Dong Yuan school of painting. Following along with trends of the time, Wu's works tended less toward naturalism and more toward abstraction, focusing on dynamic balance of elements, and personifying nature...
, Ni Zan
Ni Zan
Ni Zan was a Chinese painter during the Yuan Dynasty. Along with Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, and Wang Meng, he is considered to be one of the four "Late Yuan" masters....
, Wang Meng
Wang Meng (artist)
Wang Meng was a Chinese painter during the Yuan Dynasty. He was born in Huzhou , now known as Wuxing , Zhejiang....
active in the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
(1271–1368). They worked during the Yuan period and were revered during the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and later periods as major exponents of the tradition of “literati painting” (wenrenhua), which was concerned more with individual expression and learning than with outward representation and immediate visual appeal.
Two of the “Four Masters” were Huang Gongwang
Huang Gongwang
Huáng Gōngwàng was a painter born during the late Song Dynasty in Changshu, Jiangsu. He is the oldest of the "four great masters of the Yuan." After serving as an official he acted as a Taoist priest. He spent his last years in the Fu-ch'un mountains near Hangzhou devoting himself to Taoism. It...
and Wu Zhen
Wu Zhen
Wu Zhen was a painter during the Yuan dynasty of China. He followed the Dong Yuan school of painting. Following along with trends of the time, Wu's works tended less toward naturalism and more toward abstraction, focusing on dynamic balance of elements, and personifying nature...
, who, being of the earlier generation of artists in the Yuan, [more] consciously emulated the work of ancient masters, especially those pioneering artists of the Five Dynasties period, such as Dong Yuan
Dong Yuan
Dong Yuan was a Chinese painter.He was born in Zhongling . Dong Yuan was active in the Southern Tang Kingdom of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period...
and Juran
Juran (painter)
Juran was a Chinese landscape painter of the late Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and early Northern Song periods.Very little is known about Juran's life, and not even his family name is known . He was a native of Chiang-Ning and worked at the Southern Tang court in Jinling...
, who rendered landscape in a broad, almost Impressionistic manner, with coarse brushstrokes and wet ink washes. While these painters were also revered by the two younger Yuan masters, the restrained thinness of Ni Zan
Ni Zan
Ni Zan was a Chinese painter during the Yuan Dynasty. Along with Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, and Wang Meng, he is considered to be one of the four "Late Yuan" masters....
and the almost embroidered richness of Wang Meng could not be more different from the work of the older Yuan masters.
Thus, with the "Four Masters", all of whom were noted for their lofty personal and aesthetic ideals, the art of landscape painting shifted from an emphasis on close representation of nature to a personal expression of nature's qualities. They spurred experimentation with novel brushstroke techniques, with a new attention to the vocabulary of brush manipulation.
See also
- Four WangsFour WangsThe Four Wangs were four Chinese landscape painters in the 17th century, all called Wang . They are best known for their accomplishments in shan shui painting.-The painters:...
- Six Masters of the early Qing periodSix Masters of the early Qing periodThe Six Masters of the early Qing period was a group of major Chinese artists who worked in the 17th and early 18th centuries . Also known as orthodox masters, they continued the tradition of the scholar-painter, following the injunctions of the artist-critic Dong Qichang late in the Ming...