Wang Meng (王蒙, ca.1308 – 1385) is a Chinese painter during the Yuan Dynasty. He was born in Huzhou (湖州), Zhejiang (浙江). His courtesy name is Shuming (叔明) and pseudonym Xiangguang Jushi (香光居士). Wang Meng is considered to be one of the Four Great Masters of the Yuan Dynasty (元四家), along with Huang Gongwang (黄公望), Wu Zhen (吴镇) and Ni Zan (倪瓒). All of them are particularly renowned for painting landscapes, which they believed to be the visible key to the invisible reality. Wang Meng was the youngest of the group, and the least famous in his own time. Nevertheless, his style greatly influenced later Chinese painting. In contrast to the relatively spare style of his compatriots, his brushstrokes piled one on another to produce masses of texture combined in dense and involved patterns. Wang Meng’s maternal grandfather is the famous painter and calligrapher Zhao Mengfu (赵孟頫). Many artists copied the works of Wang Meng centuries after his death, most notably Dong Qichang (董其昌) of the Ming Dynasty. |
Artworks by Wang Meng (view the entire painting gallery) |
