Wu Bin (painter)

Wu Bin, also called Wu Pin (* 1545 or 1568 or 1573 in Putian, Fujian Province, † 1620s; [ exact survival data are not known ] ) was a Chinese landscape painter active around the turn of the 16th to the 17th century. He was also called " Wenzhong ," his nickname was " Zhiyin Toutuo ", which translates as " mendicant monk in the temple, hidden under branches " means.

Life and work

Under Emperor Wanli ( 1572-1620 ) of the Ming dynasty, he was appointed to the capital of Nanjing as an official with the title "Imperial Secretary for Public Works " and became court painter. His painting skills have been well appreciated by private individuals and Buddhist temples. His style was in landscape painting and the portraits fundamentally different from the then prevailing, petrified painting school. In later years he became a follower of Chan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism. He stayed on the Qixia Shan ( Qixia Mountain ) 20 km north-east of Nanjing. There he portrayed monks and priests among others in their activities as a wizard / mage. These magical practices have been and are today still requested by the faithful. Wu Bin created the portraits with a lot of irony and sarcasm.

End

In the 1620s Wu Bin was accused to criticize the infamous eunuch Wei Zhongxian ( 1568-1628 ). He was captured. After that there is no trace of him.

Works

  • Portrait of the Buddha, mural, ink and watercolor on silk, 146.2 × 76.3 cm, Palace Museum Beijing
  • 16 Luohan, image scroll, ink and watercolor on paper, 32 x 414.3 cm; 2011 owned by the Metropolitan Museum, New York
  • In November 2009, the collector Liu Yiqian from Shanghai bought at an auction in Beijing, the 571 cm long picture " Eighteen Arhats " for gross 169.1 million yuan, or about $ 24.8 million U.S. $. The image was almost 300 years ago the Emperor Qianlong ( 1711-1799 ). This edited it by calligraphic description of each Arhat.
  • 500 Arhat, ink and watercolor on paper, Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Landscape ( 1610), ink and watercolor on paper, Honolulu Academy of Arts
  • Ten Views of a stone (1610 )
Chinese Chán Metropolitan Museum of Art Integrated Authority File
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