The"Decline"of Late Zhe and Wu School Artists and the Reconstruction of the Late Ming Jiangnan Painting Scene
In the early Ming dynasty,elite literati gradually gained control of the interpretation of aesthetic styles,and landscape paintings from the early and middle periods of the Wu School and the Songjiang School,which aligned with their tastes,became the dominant trend from the late Ming to the Qing dynasties.Many researchers,focusing on the works of these two schools,have naturally concluded that the Zhe School and the late Wu School were in decline.However,when shifting the perspective to artistic style and the art market,it becomes clear that during the sixteenth century,when the Songjiang School rose to prominence,the Zhe School and the late Wu School continued to flourish.Painters like Chen Chun and Xu Wei not only carried on their stylistic legacy,but their schools also maintained a significant presence in the art market.This continuous prosperity aroused the jealousy of elite literati like Dong Qichang,who,influenced by Huang Gongwang's landscape concepts,criticised the later painters of the Zhejiang and Wu Schools,labelling their work as"overly sweet and vulgar"and as"typical bad habits fostered by the Wu School",and openly denied the Zhejiang elements in the styles of the two schools.Ultimately,and due to the attacks of these elite literati,the later paintings of the Zhejiang and Wu schools ended being labeled as"declining".
Late Zhe SchoolLate Wu SchoolDong QichangLate Ming Jiangnan painting scene
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