Orchid《兰花图轴》

Chen Yuanyu was a talented artist proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting, particularly in landscapes and ink orchids. He was born in Changzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu Province), the dates of his birth and death are unknown. His painting of orchids depicted the leaves tilted upwards, capturing the beauty of Wen Zhengming with elegance and grace vividly reflected on the paper. The painting is inscribed with the words “In the late winter of Gengxu, Chen Yuanzhu made the rain”, followed by two chapters in Zhu’s “Xiaoping” and “Chen Yuanyuan’s Seal”. A supplementary inscription is present in the middle left of the painting, stating that a Jinling beauty painted orchids ten years ago, which resembled the work of a maid. The lady’s name was not known, but the public inscribed the poem, and her daughter immediately became famous. The title of the painting is “Su”, with the seal “Chen Jingang Seal” written in white underneath it.

陈元素，生卒年不详，字古白，长洲(今江苏苏州)人。早负才名，工诗文、书画。擅山水，尤善墨兰。
此画兰叶偃仰，超然出尘，得文徵明之秀媚，雅逸之气跃然纸上。款署：“庚戌深冬对雨作，陈元素”，款下钤白文“陈元素印”、朱文“孝平”二章。画左中有补题款：“十年前见一金陵丽人画兰，戏效之，殊似婢作，夫人不胜罗绮，不图诂名，公为题咏，顿翔其贾。丁卯夏重题，素。”款下钤白文“陈金刚印”章。