Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Wen Shu
Late Ming woman painter from Suzhou, a descendant of Wen Zhengming, known for flowers and insects painted from life
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 Duanrong · Zhao Wen Shu
Wen Shu, courtesy name Duanrong, came from Changzhou county in Suzhou and was a late Ming painter. The daughter of Wen Congjian and a great-great-granddaughter of Wen Zhengming, she married Zhao Jun, son of the scholar Zhao Huanguang. She painted flowers, grasses, insects and butterflies, largely from direct observation, and is said to have copied illustrations from an herbal in the palace collection. Her Silkworms on Mulberry Leaves of 1630 is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and Daylilies and Rock is in the Palace Museum, Beijing. Qian Qianyi praised the originality of her studies from life. Her daughter Zhao Zhao also painted flowers.
Life and times
Dates 1595 CE–1634 CE (death by another account 1635)