19th Century
19th Century
Ren Yu
The Life and Family of Ren Yu Ren Yu was born in 1853. He belonged to a family of prominent painters in Shanghai known as the Four Rens. Within this group, he held a specific place as the youngest member. While his relatives were active in the city's artistic circles, Ren Yu moved through the world with a different temperament. He was the most eccentric of the four, often standing apart from the expectations of his kin. His life was marked by a certain lack of abundance. He was the least prolific of the Four Rens, leaving behind fewer works than his brothers. This scarcity in his output was…
—
works mapped
—
subjects
1901
active until
An Interactive Constellation
The Subject Atlas
A chart of Ren Yu's corpus mapped not by date but by subject. Spokes are what they painted; rings are when; and the threads between stars reveal the patrons and places that secretly connect them.
Focus a Subject
Trace a Context
Spokes — Subject
Each arm of the atlas gathers works by what they depict: portraits, sacred scenes, mythologies, and the scientific studies. Click a spoke to swing that cluster to the top.
Rings — Career Period
Distance from the center marks time. The innermost ring is the earliest period; the outermost, the final years. Style matures as you move outward.
Threads — Shared Context
Coloured lines link works bound by the same patron, commission, or theme. Trace a context to watch related clusters light up across subjects.