The painting was initially in the possession of Xu Hongting, but the date and mode of acquisition is unknown. This artwork was then found to be in the possession of Liu Song-bu, where the details regarding the date and mode of acquisition are again unknown. This painting (no. 285) was then showcased in the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in the China Pavilion in 1915. Henry Walters purchased this painting in 1915. Finally, the painting was bequeathed to the Walters Art Museum by Henry Walters in 1931.
This figure painting, titled "Playing the Flute," was painted by one of the "Four Rens," Ren Yi (任頤 1840–1896), popularly known by his courtesy name Ren Bonian (任伯年). Hailing from Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province, Ren Bonian moved to Shanghai following the death of his father. There, he was exposed to an increasingly urban environment shaped by new commercial and cultural interactions, including Western influences. He subsequently became one of the prominent artists associated with the Shanghai School of Painting.
The Shanghai School developed alongside the transformation of the port city into a major commercial centre following the opening of its port and the First Opium War in the late nineteenth century CE. The political and economic upheavals of the period, including the Taiping Revolution, brought painters, wealthy landowners, merchants, and other patrons from southeastern China to Shanghai. Their presence, together with the city's growing commercial culture, contributed to an increasingly commercialised art market in which portraits, popular narrative subjects, and colourful flower-and-bird paintings became popular. These artists nevertheless remained connected to earlier Chinese painting traditions, drawing inspiration from the individualist painters of the seventeenth century and the "eccentric" painters of eighteenth-century Yangzhou.
Ren Bonian belonged to the early Shanghai School. He was well-known for his bold brushwork and use of colour, while retaining elements of traditional Chinese ink paintings. Early in his career, he was influenced by Song Dynasty painters. But as he developed his own personal and freer style later in his career, he was influenced by the works of artists such as Chen Chun, Xu Wei, and Zhu Da. Ren Bonian was very talented and painted various themes but his figure paintings subsequently exerted a far-reaching influence on later generations of Chinese artists.
In "Playing the Flute," Ren Bonian depicts a man seated on the gnarled roots of a tree while playing a flute in solitude. Although this painting initially invoked a sense of loneliness, the wall and the tall fence visible on the upper right corner of the painting suggest that he is in a secluded retreat rather than an uninhabited landscape. The painting also showcases Ren Bonian's distinctive use of colour while retaining elements if traditional Chinese ink painting. The detailed depiction of the tree roots, branches, leaves, and flowers, further demonstrates his skill in depicting natural forms and the depiction of the solitary figure of the man showcases his talent in rendering figures, something that he is well known for.
'Playing the Flute' by Ren Bonian, is a spin on the 'figure painting' school in China from the 1890s. Belonging to the Shanghai painting movement, Ren Bonian was known for his use of colour and intricate detailing, and blended neo colouring with traditional Chinese ink painting. This artwork is an example of his talents, and by showcasing a man in his lonesome playing a flute, depicts loneliness and solitude, the loneliness and solitude of creativity and art.
