Wang Renshou

CHINA, Henan, Nanyang; Later Jin dynasty

Wang Renshou was a painter from Wanqiu, Runan (present day Nanyang, Henan). He was a painter-in-attendance during the Later Jin dynasty (936–946), and modeled his works after that of Wu Daozi, a renowned Tang dynasty (618–907) painter. Skilled in the portrayal of Buddhist images, deities, ghosts, and horses, he painted illustrations of the Pure Land and the Sutra on the Descent of Maitreya on two walls of Manjusri Hall, and Eight Bodhisattvas in the Pure Land Hall of Xiangguo Temple in Henan. These paintings were recorded in Overview of Painting, and one other work, entitled Camels, was listed in Xuanhe Catalog of Paintings. Wang’s son Wang Shiyuan is also regarded as a well-known painter of his time.