The Exhibition of Wen Zhengming’s Work at the Wu School of Painting and International Academic Seminar began yesterday in the Suzhou Museum.

In 2012, the Suzhou Museum launched a series of academic exhibitions of four masters from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the first of which – the Exhibition of Shen Zhou’s Work – attracted significant attention.

Born in Changzhou county, Suzhou prefecture, Wen Zhengming (1470 – 1559) was a key figure in the transitional period of the Wu School of Art in the mid-Ming Dynasty. This exhibition is larger, has more items on display and is open longer. Over 70 masterpieces will be on display. They come from 22 museums or galleries including the Shanghai Museum, the Palace Museum, the Nanjing Museum, Duoyunxuan (Shanghai Book and Painting Press), the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Art Museum of Yale University and the Honolulu Art Museum. The paintings feature landscapes, flowers, birds, figures and bamboo. The calligraphy utilizes different ancient writing styles.

The exhibition demonstrates the development of Wen Zhengming’s artistic style on a large scale and at high quality.

Roughly 30 experts attended the two-day seminar, holding in-depth discussions according to genre, monographic study and case study. They focused on topics such as distinguishing fake works from genuine ones, and Wen’s inheritance and archival. All the experts visited Wen’s tomb and Wen’s inscription and rubbing exhibition in the Suzhou Inscription Museum.

The Exhibition of Wen Zhengming’s Work will open on November 12 and last until February 16, 2014.