5 Ren Xun (1835-1893)
The Romance of the Western Chamber
undated
album of twelve leaves, ink and color on paper
each leaf 34 x 35.5 cm
Palace Museum, Beijing
Ren Xun was the younger brother and student of Ren Xiong. He, like his brother,
mastered the elongated linear style of the late Ming figure painter Chen
Hongshou in order to create slightly distorted but expressive images of
human figures. This album illustrates a love story in which scholar Zhang,
while studying for the imperial examinations in a Buddhist temple, falls
in love with the beautiful daughter of a high official, who is betrothed
to someone else. The servant girl of his beloved serves as their messenger
as they exchange poems and letters.