Iron Flute Tower《铁笛楼图》

Tang Yifen (1778–1853)
Tang Yifen, courtesy names Yusheng and Ruoyi, and pseudonyms Zhou Weng and Qinyin Daoren, was from Wujin (present-day Changzhou), Jiangsu. The Tang family was a prominent clan in Changzhou, and Tang Yifen, benefiting from his family’s status, inherited the title of Yunqi Commander at the age of sixteen. He held various military positions, eventually rising to Deputy General of Wenzhou. Due to illness, he retired and settled in Nanjing, where he built the Qinyin Garden. Tang Yifen was a man of diverse interests and exceptional talent, excelling in astronomy, geography, and the teachings of the ancient philosophers. He was proficient in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and also had a keen interest in music, horsemanship, and fencing. Among his many talents, he was particularly renowned for his painting. In 1853, during the Taiping Rebellion’s attack on Nanjing, Tang Yifen assisted the Governor of Liangjiang, Lu Jianying, in defending the city. Following their defeat, he calmly composed a final poem and drowned himself, earning the posthumous title “Zhenmin.”

“Iron Flute Tower” (1813)
This painting was created during the Jiaxing Renshen Sacrifice Day (1813 in the Gregorian calendar) when Tang Yifen was serving as the Commandant of Qichang in Guangdong, at the age of thirty-seven. The painting bears the horizontal inscription “Iron Flute Tower” in clerical script, and below it, a long colophon in running-cursive script. The colophon recounts how Lu Feng’s third brother in Beijing obtained an ancient iron flute of unknown origin, treasured for its resonant sound. He wished to name a tower after it and asked Tang Yifen to create this painting, followed by a long poem in the gehang style. The full content is recorded in volume seven of the “Qinyin Garden Collection” under the title “Iron Flute Song for Commandant Luo Lufeng (Jiang),” indicating that the recipient of the painting was Commandant Luo Jiang. The two texts have minor differences, suggesting later revisions in the published collection. The painting features fine and dry brushstrokes with light ink evenly applied, achieving a simple yet profound artistic effect. It is considered one of Tang Yifen’s early masterpieces using the dry brush technique.

恽向（1586－1655），原名本初，后改为向，字道生，一字曙臣，号香山，江苏武进（今常州）人。好诗文书画，特善画山水。早年翰墨淋漓，晚年惜墨如金，对侄子恽寿平影响颇大。

这件《董巨遗意图轴》是恽向四十七岁时所绘送给“子羽社兄”的。此“社”应是复社，他于崇祯二年（1629）加入。至于“子羽社兄”则难以查考其姓名，有可能是太仓人黄翼圣（1596—1659）。此作为其宗法董源一路的早年之笔，描绘的是夏山雨过后云气氤氲、草木华滋的情景。虽然处处可见董、巨的元素，但笔墨内质与结构布局又都是自己的。他受时风影响自然多仿古之作，但其仿古一直以自己对古人的深刻理解与高超追求为主导，正如他在题款中所说，近世画家学董巨、吴镇而不解生疏之致，只求其密而不求其疏。在这件作品中，恽向不斤斤计较细致的皴染，而是以阔笔写意做到疏中有密，笔墨沉郁而又空灵，观之水墨氤氲不觉扑面而来，堪称为其早年艺术至精之作。纵观他早年的画作，有如此水准的极为罕见，此件毫无疑问是他的代表性精品。杜甫有诗云“元气淋漓幛犹湿，真宰上诉天应泣”，用作此画解语恰到好处。