Artist: Ren Yu (1853-1901)

Date: Qing (1644-1911)

Dimensions: Height 23.3 cm, Width 32.1 cm

Material: Ink and color on paper

• Object Type：
  • PAINTINGS
• Location：
  • The Painting and Calligraphy of Shanghai Gallery
• Tag：
  • ghost album leaf ren yu qing ink and color paper

Ren Yu (1853-1901), also known as Yu in different Chinese character, with the zi (designated name) Lifan, was a native of Xiaoshan, Zhejiang. The son of the renowned painter Ren Xiong, he excelled in landscape, figure, and bird-and-flower paintings, and was one of the "Four Rens of Shanghai". This album employs a stark and whimsical aesthetic to convey social satire. The depictions of ghosts are vivid, rendered with subtly layered ink tones. The artist's inscriptions on several leaves note that they were modeled after Gao Fenghan, Jin Nong, and Luo Pin — three masters of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou". Both Jin Nong and Luo Pin were celebrated for their paintings of ghosts, with Luo Pin's series Gui Qu Tu (Ghost Realm Amusements) being particularly renowned. This work thus exemplifies the artistic influence of the Yangzhou School on the Shanghai School.