Page 60 - 2020 November 30 Bonhams Rev. Richard Fabian Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy Hong Kong

REN XIONG (1823-1857)
Using the courtesy name Weichang, sobriquet Xiang Pu, he was a
native of Xiaoshan, Zhejiang Province. He was a leading figure of the
Shanghai school in the late Qing dynasty. Ren Xiong, together with
his son Ren Yu, brother Ren Xun, and Ren Yi were referred to as the
Four Rens of the Shanghai school. Two famous artists of the late
Qing dynasty, Zhou Xian and Yao Xie, recognized Ren Xiong’s natural
talents in art and gave him plentiful opportunities to closely view their
entire paintings from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, which
contributed to his mastery in painting various subjects, including
landscapes, figures, flowers, birds, fish, insects, and animals. Zhang
Mingke praised Ren’s style of painting figures in his book Discussions
on Art by Hansong Studio, saying that “the folds of clothing are so
bold and firm as if they were made of and painted with metal; his style
exhibits the essence of Chen Hongshou, while being innovative and
unique.” His works display imposing brushwork, elegance with an air
of antiquity, and a sense of silence made possible by intense colours.
His representational paintings, such as the “Self-Portrait”, “Ten-Myriads
Album”, “Capturing the Essence of Yao Xie’s Poetry”, “Hut at Fang
Lake”, are in the collections of the Shanghai Museum and the Palace
Museum.

任熊（1823-1857）
字渭長，號湘浦。浙江蕭山人。清末海派繪畫極具代表性人物。與子
任預、弟薰及侄任頤並稱「海上四任」。得周閑、姚燮賞識，遍橅二
人所藏宋元明清佳跡，畫益精進。山水、人物、花卉、翎毛、蟲魚、
走獸，無一不精，變化神妙，不各一法。清張鳴珂《寒松閣談藝瑣
錄》讚其人物「衣褶如銀勾鐵畫，直入陳章侯之室，而獨開生面者
也。」筆力雄奇，古雅絕俗，色彩強烈而氣味靜穆，裝飾性極強。傳
世代表作〈自畫像〉、〈十萬圖冊〉、〈姚燮詩意圖〉、〈范湖草堂
圖〉，分藏於上海博物館及北京故宮。

Ren Xiong, “Self-Portrait” (detail)
Collection of Palace Museum, Beijing
任熊〈自畫像〉（局部） 北京故宮博物院藏
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