Wu Hufan was born in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. He is known not only for his landscapes, but also for his collection of traditional paintings and his connoisseurship. As the grandson of Qing period painter and calligrapher Wu Dacheng (1835-1902), Wu Hufan was able to access and study many original masterpieces. He is especially known for his study of the ‘Four Wangs’ from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Dong Qichang (1555-1636) of the Ming dynasty, and also Dong Yuan, Juran (active AD 660-995) and other Song dynasty (AD 960-1279) master painters.
On this page, the artist has inscribed: ‘The original painting of Juran’s Ten Thousand Miles along the Yangzi River was in the imperial collection, and today I have the good fortune to see it. When depicting the top of hills [Juran applies] the skill of ‘fan dian cun’ with short strikes by holding the brush perpendicularly. [Juran] and Fan Kuan [active AD 960-1031] used seemingly different but actually similar styles of brushwork.'
Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 24 September-1 December 1996, Modern Chinese Paintings: The Reyes Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Vainker, Shelagh (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1996), no. 89 on p. 67, p. 10
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