Daylily and Rock of Longevity (handscroll)

Chen Chun was born in Suzhou. His name was originally Chun and courtesy name, Daofu, but he later changed his name to Daofu and his courtesy name to Fufu. His literary name was Baiyangshanren. He and Xu Wei were called the “Green Vine and Bright Sun” (qingtengbaiyang). He excelled in painting and imitated the style of Wen Zhengming’s paintings. Chen’s landscape paintings, with his unique and unconventional style, have an air of ease and verve. He was especially good at painting flowers, and the works feature a nature of boldness and freedom. The painter was able to achieve a lifelike resemblance in his paintings to flowers in the real world via a single blossom or leaf.