Wu Zhen

▪ Chinese painter

Wade-Giles romanization  Wu Chen  

born 1280, Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China

died 1354

      one of the group of Chinese painters later known as the Four Masters of the Yuan, (Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty) or Mongol, dynasty (1206–1368). His fame derives particularly from his incorruptible life as a recluse (and diviner) away from the Mongol court.

 Wu, like others of the group, sought stylistic inspiration in the past (especially from Five Dynasties masters such as Juran), but his paintings are not overwhelmingly determined by that desire. Rather, they are a combination of the new attitudes of the Yuan period with sometimes conservative tendencies traceable to the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). Wu is generally associated with landscapes, especially scenes of fishermen.

 

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