Wen Chu
Master of delicate Ming flower-and-insect paintings
Wen Chu(文俶) (1595–1634), courtesy name Duanrong(端容), was from Changzhou in Suzhou Prefecture, Southern Zhili (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). She was a female painter of the Ming dynasty and the great-granddaughter of Wen Zhengming(文徵明). After marrying Zhao Lingjun(赵灵均), she lived in seclusion at Hanshan, excelling in painting flowers, plants, insects, and butterflies. She was skilled in life sketching, often painting rare flowers, unusual plants, and small insects or butterflies. Her brushwork was delicate and elegant, with a refined style. Some of her works that have survived include the albums “Flowers and Plants” and the painting “Xuan Shi Tu.” Wen Chu spent three years copying illustrations from the imperial book “Ben Cao Pin Hui Jing Yao,” combining her family’s treasured collectibles with on-site sketches. Together with her husband Zhao Jun and her father Wen Congjian, she completed “Jinshi Kun Chong Cao Mu Zhuang,” which includes over a thousand illustrations of stones, plants, and insects. At the end of the Ming dynasty, Qian Qianyi praised her for “her dotting and shading life sketches with fresh ideas, making her unparalleled among painters of this dynasty.” During the Qing dynasty, Zhang Geng wrote in the “Continued Records of National Painting” that “Among the talented ladies of Wu, for the past three hundred years, Wen Chu is considered unmatched in painting.” She died young in middle age. Many forgeries and imitations of her work circulated afterward, and authentic pieces are rare.