博
Artist: Wu Youru (1850-1894)
Date: Modern
Dimensions: Height 64.5 cm, Width 71.1 cm
Wu Youru (1850-1894), named Jiayou, also known by his zi (designated name) Youru, was native to Yuanhe in Jiangsu (in present-day Suzhou). He sold his paintings for a living in Shanghai. Adept in painting figures and portraits, he was the painter in chief for the early lithographic pictorial in China Dianshizhai Pictorials, pioneering the Chinese news genre drawings. This work was commissioned by Zeng Guoquan (1824-1890), the principal Xiang Army commander and Governor-General of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi. Wu Youren led the drafting of the paintings that depict the Xiang army generals defeating the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The work combines the Western painting perspectives and baimiao (line drawing) technique in the journalism drawing style, vividly capturing the key moments of these people. This album was published on Dianshizhai Pictorials and thus widely circulated.
