Man on a Bridge

Ren Yi (Ren Bonian)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ren Yi, like his contemporary and friend Xugu (1823–1896), experimented with the realistic rendering of natural scenery instead of producing traditional landscapes composed of conventional compositions and brushstroke formulas. Here, he used irregular patches of wash and hatching to convey the impression of naked branches. Ren approached the picture as a Western artist sketching nature might have, asking "How can I render what I see?" rather than attempting to imitate Western art. Photographs, regularly published in newspapers and magazines in Shanghai as early as the 1870s, shattered traditional Chinese concepts of picture making and had more to do with changing attitudes in landscape painting in the late nineteenth century than any direct influence of Western art.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art