A flower-and-bird ink painting by Ren. CHINA DAILY

Ren, who's regarded as a leader of the Shanghai school of painting, reformed traditional Chinese ink art by injecting it with a modern spirit.

Ren's works retain the elegance and tranquillity that generations of scholar-painters have embraced throughout centuries.

Ren adopted the figurative technique of oil painting and favored depicting ordinary subjects.

His works were also popular among common people, rather than just among a limited group of social elites.

Xu was won over by Ren's spirit of renovation, as well as the lyrical, romantic feelings that define his works.

Ren died in 1895, the year Xu was born.