Ren Renfa
Encyclopedia
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...
. He was born in the Qinglong Zhen district of Songjiang (松江青龙镇 - present day Qingpu District, Shanghai).
Ren drew some outstanding paintings of horses, people, flowers and birds. Ren's style is similar to the artists of the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(608–907) and Li Gongling in Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(1127–1279). His paintings of horses are comparable to those by Zhao Mengfu
Zhao Mengfu
Zhao Mengfu courtesy name Ziang , pseudonyms Songxue , Oubo , and Shuijing-gong Dao-ren , was a prince and descendant of the Song Dynasty, and a Chinese scholar, painter and calligrapher during the Yuan Dynasty.He was recommended by the Censor-in-chief Cheng Jufu to pay an audience...
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Ren's hydrological works include dredging the area in what is now Beijing to improve the water supply and leading a team to build embankments after the Yellow River burst its banks.
Chu Yu Ti
A prominent work of his is Chu Yu Tu (出圉图 - A Painting of Leading Horses out of Stable); on silk, with color, height 32.4 cm, width 201.9 cm, currently in a collection of The Palace Museum, BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
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In this painting, three officials of the royal stables are leading four horses out the stable. The painting has a very explicit Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
style. The people in the painting are dressed in Tang style costumes. All these reflect that the artist admired the culture of Tang Dynasty. The people and horses are spread out in the painting, which is a main characteristic of paintings by Ren.
At the end of the painting (left side), there are some words about the artist and the year of painting. "ZhiYuan GengCheng ChunWang San Ri (The third day in the second month of spring, 1280), Zuo ChuYu Tu Yu KeShi Tang (Draw "A Painting of Leading Horses out of Stable" at KeShi Tang—a room for poem), YueShan Ren ZiMing Ji (YueShan—Moon Mountain, Ren ZiMing—a courtesy name of the artist)". There is a poem written by the Emperor of QianLong (Qing Dynasty, 1736—1795), who also wrote some hand writings in the middle of the painting. This is one of the earliest works of Ren (and the earliest one of his that exists), and was drawn in 1280 when he was 27.