Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Lu Ji
Ming court painter from Ningbo who served in the Renzhi Hall under the Hongzhi emperor and painted richly coloured birds and flowers
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Zi Tingzhen · Hao Leyu
Lu Ji, courtesy name Tingzhen, styled Leyu, came from Yin county, present-day Ningbo in Zhejiang. Summoned to Beijing in the Hongzhi era, he served in the Renzhi Hall with the rank of commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He learned bird-and-flower painting from the manner of Bian Jingzhao and the Southern Song academy, painting birds among the flowers and trees of the four seasons in fine line and rich colour, with some freer ink work as well, and with Lin Liang he represents Ming court bird-and-flower painting. The Record of Ming Painting says he often worked a word of admonition into his pictures, which won the Hongzhi emperor's praise. Surviving works include Egrets and Hibiscus in Autumn (Taipei) and Mountain Birds among Osmanthus and Chrysanthemums and Hawk and Herons among Withered Lotus (Palace Museum, Beijing).
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active in the Hongzhi era (1488–1505)