Wu Zhen: The Greatest of the Four Masters of Yuan Dynasty

Wu Zhen (1280-1354) (吴镇) : courtesy name Zhong Gui (仲圭) , style name Mei Hua Dao Ren (梅花道人) , or Mei Sha Mi (梅沙弥) , native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. His paintings of mellow, lush south China landscape and pine trees are executed with a firm, steady brush in dark ink tones. After a relatively obscure and impoverished life, his paintings gained posthumous fame and popularity, propelling him into the ranks of the Four Great Masters of the Yuan Dynasty, on a par with Huang Gongwang, Ni Zan and Wang Meng. This painting “Fisherman” (渔父图) depicts a fisherman angling from a boat at the end of a long stream winding through distant mountains. The lush vegetation, the meandering watercourse and the mountains shrouded in mist are well differentiated through the artist’s skillful use of layered ink washes, faithfully capturing the spirit and mood of south China sceneries.

Withered Wood, Bamboo and Stone (竹石谱)
Wu Zhen loved to use wet strokes to paint; stroke-in-wet-ink was one of his major characteristics. He applied a large amount of water to painting bamboo, unlike others who mostly painted it dry. Wu Zhen has presented to us this brilliant work of bamboo and stone, which has strokes and ink, and plentiful ink and wash. Strictly speaking, although bamboo leaves in thick ink were painted wet, the painter still painted them with great speed-there was no hesitation. Stone, trees, and a misty background of bushes in light ink and wet strokes create a smoky and wonderful effect. The orchid in the blurry bottom-right corner with distinguished strokes on each petal also adds a great deal of depth to this work-it is indispensable to the whole picture.

source: The Art Book of Chinese Paintings, published by Long River Press