Seeking Plum Blossoms in the Snow《踏雪寻梅图轴》

Ren Yi (1840–1896)
Ren Yi, courtesy name Boren, pseudonym Xiaolou, was from Shaoxing, Zhejiang. He learned portrait painting from his father in his youth and later studied painting under Ren Xiong and Ren Xun. He lived in Shanghai, making a living by selling paintings. His techniques were comprehensive, encompassing landscapes, flowers, birds, and figures. Ren Yi inherited the rustic charm of folk painting, incorporating the styles of Chen Hongshou, Chen Chun, Xu Wei, Yun Shouping, Hua Yan, Ren Xiong, and Ren Xun, and absorbed Western sketching and coloring techniques, forming a unique style characterized by simplicity, clarity, and vividness. His work had widespread appeal and a distinct contemporary flavor. Together with Ren Xiong, Ren Xun, and Ren Yu, he was known as one of the “Four Rens of Shanghai,” significantly influencing later painting.

“Seeking Plum Blossoms in the Snow” (1889)
This painting, created in 1889 when Ren Yi was fifty years old, is a late work. The brushwork is simple and the lines are strong and fluid, with a touch of roughness, making it a rare example among his figure paintings. The elderly man depicted wears a bamboo hat, holds a plum branch, and has a joyful expression, allowing the viewer to experience the pure and fragrant world of plum blossoms in the snow, making it highly captivating. The inscription reads: “In the Jia Ping month of the Jichou year of Guangxu, painted by Ren Yi Boren in his studio in Shanghai.” The seals read “Ren Yi’s seal” and “Boren,” with the seal “Yiyi Caotang” at the lower right. The collector’s seal “Once in the collection of Liu Guojun” is affixed at the lower left.

任颐（1840—1896），字伯年，号小楼，浙江绍兴人。自幼随父学习写像，后从任熊、任薰学画，居上海以卖画为生。技法全面，山水、花鸟、人物等无一不能。他继承民间绘画朴实的气息，又融汇陈洪绶、陈淳、徐渭、恽寿平、华嵒、任熊、任薰等诸家之长，还吸收了西画速写、设色诸法，形成简练沉着、明净生动的独特画风，具有雅俗共赏的艺术趣味和鲜明的时代气息。与任熊、任薰、任预合称“海上四任”，对后世绘画产生了重大影响。

此画作于1889年，为其50岁时所作，属于晚期作品。笔法简练，线条遒劲流畅，尤其是用笔还带有几分粗狂，是其人物画中少见的。画中的老者头戴斗笠，手中持梅，面露愉悦之色，让观者也感受到了雪天梅香彻骨的洁白世界，十分引人入胜。款署：“光绪己丑嘉平月，山阴任颐伯年甫写于沪城寓斋。”款下钤白文“任颐之印”、朱文“伯年”二印，画右下钤朱文“颐颐草堂”印。另画左下钤朱文“曾在刘国钧处”鉴藏印。