Yun Bing (, dates unknown), courtesy names Qingyu () and Haoru (), was a Chinese painter during the
Qianlong
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his Temple name, temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing empe ...
era. She is well known for her bird-and-flower paintings executing the "boneless" technique, and became the most famed of the Yun family's female artists.
Biography
Yun was born to an artistic family in Wujin District of
Changzhou
Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...
, the granddaughter of the famed painter
Yun Shouping
Yun Shouping ( Chinese: 惲壽平; 1633 – 1690), also known as Nantian ( Chinese: 南田), was a Chinese calligrapher and painter. He was a major artist of the early Chinese Qing dynasty. Along with the Four Wangs and Wú Lì, he was regarded ...
. Her niece
Yun Zhu
Yun Zhu or Wanglan Yun Zhu aka Adept of the Lotus Lake (29 July 1771 – 1 June 1833) was a Qing dynasty poet, painter, anthologist and moralist.Shanghai Museum is dated to 1750. She married Mao Hongtiao, also from Wujin, and the two sold paintings and wrote poetry to support their family. One of Yun's granddaughters, named Zhou (), was recorded in the Yun family genealogy book, which has been used to suggest that her artistic skills were worthy of the Yun clan.
Art
Yun's painting style was heavily influenced by her family's preference for the "boneless" technique. She predominantly painted bird-and-flower paintings, but also painted people, one of which depicts a woman doing her hair known as the ''Hairpin Scroll'' (). Yun is often compared with her contemporary
Ma Quan
Ma Quan (, dates unknown), courtesy name Jiangxiang (), was a Qing painter who lived during the late 17th–18th centuries, specialising in bird and flower painting. As a female artist who sold her paintings, Ma's art style is markedly different ...
, who similarly specialised in bird-and-flower painting but favoured strong outlines. The ''Chuyue jiexu wenjian lu'' (), compiled in 1818, describes how people throughout the
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
region described them as the "two without parallel" ()
During his tenure as governor-general of Liangjiang, Yi Jishan presented some of Yun's works to Empress Dowager Chongqing who in turn showed them to the Qianlong Emperor. The emperor was reportedly so impressed that he wrote a poem praising her art, after which Yun's reputation as a painter spread.
Gallery
File:MET DP153920.jpg, ''Flower Study'' (),
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
File:MET DP153921.jpg, ''Flower Study'' (),
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...