“The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou” was a group of painters with a unique style who were active in Yangzhou from the mid-Kangxi period to the late Qianlong period in the Qing Dynasty (18^th century). There were not only eight painters in the “Eight Eccentrics”, but actually a group of more than ten painters. The generally recognized ones included Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Zheng Xie, Li Shan, Li Fangying, Wang Shishen, Gao Xiang and Luo Pin. In addition, a few other painters were also included in the “Eight Eccentrics”, such as Hua Yan, Gao Fenghan, Bian Shoumin, Min Zhen, and Chen Zhuan, so later generations also called them the “Yangzhou School Painters”.

Although they were called “Eccentrics”, their style was actually new. Their paintings and calligraphy were based on the freehand brushwork of traditional literati paintings or the “Southern School”, but were created according to the painters’ different aesthetics and personalities, resulting in unforgettable distinct personal features. In terms of artistic expression, the painters made liberal use of ink freehand brushwork techniques, emphasized conveying the spirit, and infused their works with strong emotions; they also focused on the organic combination of poetry, painting and calligraphy, and some painted with calligraphy skills. All the works of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou had profound ideological connotations, and their artistic style was fresh and wild. They did not follow the beaten track, but rather blazed a new trail.

The “Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou” spread the literati paintings, which were only about the scholar-bureaucrats in the past, to the general public, thus expanding the theme of literati paintings, incorporating the lives of ordinary people. The Eight Eccentrics popularized literati paintings, and made the once quiet literati painting circles lively and brand new. They became a new force to break through the shackles of the orthodox ideas about painting in China in the 18th century, and had an important impact on later paintings.

Tianjin Museum has a rich collection of paintings and calligraphy from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially works of the Yangzhou Painting School. In this exhibition, more than 100 excellent works by 13 painters from the Yangzhou Painting School are displayed, which comprehensively demonstrate their unique artistic features.