Wu Bing
Dipinti floreali meticolosi
Wu Bing (anni esatti di nascita e morte sconosciuti) era originario di Wuyang, Pilin (oggi Changzhou, Jiangsu). Durante gli anni Shaoxi dell'imperatore Guangzong della dinastia Song del Sud (1190–1194), prestò servizio come attendente presso l'Accademia di Pittura. L'imperatrice Li ammirava i suoi dipinti e lo nominò attendente presso l'Accademia di Pittura, conferendogli una cintura d'oro. Si dedicava principalmente a dipinti meticolosi di uccelli e fiori. His representative works include 'Bamboo and Sparrow', 'Lotus in Life Drawing (Lotus Emerging from Water)', 'Poppy', 'Precious Jewel and Jade Butterfly', 'Mandarin Duck and Auspicious Lotus', 'Peach Branch', 'Spring Pond Sleeping Ducks', and 'Camellia and Pigeon', among others. Paintings such as 'Spring Pond Sleeping Ducks', 'Camellia and Pigeon', 'Mandarin Duck and Auspicious Lotus', 'Precious Jewel and Jade Butterfly', and 'Peach Branch' (26 pieces in total) are recorded in 'Huishi Beikao'. Wu Bing was known for his life-drawing of broken branches, and his works were often small fan-shaped or album pages, with delicate and lavish coloring. His 'Lotus Emerging from Water' is on silk with color, measuring 23.8 cm in height and 25 cm in width; the old title attributed it to Wu Bing, though there's no solid evidence. 'Bamboo and Sparrow' is in the Shanghai Museum, and 'Camellia and Pigeon' is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In the Yuan Dynasty, Xia Wenyen's 'Tuhui Baojian' praised his painting style, saying, 'Life-drawing of broken branches, rivaling nature, with exquisite and lavish coloring.'