Zhao Yuan
Elegant light-red landscapes and ink bamboo
Zhao Yuan(赵原), whose original name was Yuan(元), courtesy name Shanchang(善长), and art name Danlin(丹林), was a painter from Ju(莒) County, Shandong. His birth and death years are unknown. He lived during the late Yuan and early Ming periods and spent a long time in Suzhou. He learned landscape painting from Dong Yuan and Wang Meng, often creating light red landscapes with strong, elegant brushwork. He was also good at painting ink bamboo, with varied techniques, earning titles like 'dragon horn,' 'phoenix tail,' and 'gold inlay knife.' In the late Yuan period, Zhao Yuan socialized with famous scholars like Gu Ying, Ni Zan, and Wang Meng. In the early Ming, he was summoned to the palace, but was executed for failing to meet expectations while painting portraits of meritorious officials. His surviving works include 'Hexi Studio' (collected in Shanghai Museum) and 'Lu Yu Brewing Tea' (collected in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan).