Bian Wenyu
Vigorous Song-Yuan style small landscapes
Bian Wenyu(卞文瑜) (1576–1655), courtesy name Runfu(润甫), also known as Fubai(浮白) and Luo'an(萝庵), was from Suzhou during the Ming Dynasty. His original surname was Xu(徐), but he adopted Bian(卞) to avoid taboo. He studied landscape painting under Dong Qichang. Some of his surviving works include “Lotus Pavilion Summer Fan” and “Imitation Ancient Landscape Album” in the Palace Museum, the “Imitation Song and Yuan Landscape Album” in the Shanghai Museum, and the hanging scroll “Yiwu Xuan Painting” (100cm×44.5cm, color on paper) in the Palace Museum in Beijing. In his early years, Bian Wenyu’s works were close to Dong Qichang’s style but with lighter ink. In middle age, he followed the styles of Zhao Zuo and the Wu School. In his later years, after meeting Wang Shimin and Wang Jian and seeing original works by Dong Yuan, Juran, and the Four Yuan Masters, he turned to copying the Song and Yuan traditions. His brushwork became strong and vigorous, and he excelled in small landscape scenes like those in the “Imitation Ancient Landscape Album” and landscape fan paintings. His 1637 work “Yiwu Xuan Painting” features dense composition with fine and rich rock textures. Wang Jian commented that his late works were “full of vital energy,” and Wu Meicun noted that his small landscapes “bring out the quietness of the groves and ponds.”