父任鹤声(淞云)乃民间画工，专擅肖像写真。初从父学画，後受其族叔任熊影响。真率不修边幅。画人物花卉仿北宋人法，纯以焦墨勾骨，赋色秾厚，颇近老莲。年未及壮，已名重大江南北。後得八大山人画册，更悟用笔之法，虽极细之画，必悬腕中锋。自言作画如颐，差足当一写字。间作山水，沉思独往，忽然有得，疾起捉笔，淋漓挥洒，气象万千。书法亦参画意。寓沪久，鬻画以终。
任伯年生于鸦片战争的清道光十九年（1840年），卒于光绪二十二年（1896年）。是上海画派的首领人物和杰出代表，与任熊、任熏、任预合称“上海四任”，又与蒲华、虚谷、吴昌硕合称“上海四大家”。
清末五口通商后，上海已成为国内最大的商埠，人称“十里洋场”，那时，全国各地以卖画为生的都集中到上海来淘金。在绘画艺术领域，由于上海绘画受求新变古影响，传统一路已是强弩之末，于是创新的画家和新的画风应运而生，任伯年就是其中的佼佼者。
任伯年生活在一个民间艺人家庭，父亲任声鹤是民间画像师，大伯任熊，二伯任薰，已是名声显赫的画家。少时受家庭的薰染，已能绘画。十来岁时，一次家中来客，坐了片刻就告辞了，父亲回来问是谁来，伯年答不上姓名，便拿起纸来，把来访者画出，父亲看了，便知是谁了。这说明任伯年幼年就掌握了写真画技巧。
任伯年曾在十几岁青年时期，在太平天国的军中“掌大旗”，当时军旗较大，“战时麾之，以为前驱”。直到天京沦陷，任伯年才回家乡，后至上海随任熊、任薰学画。以后长期在上海以卖画为生。任伯年为人率真，不修边幅，学画时近30岁，画多而名声渐大，但其身心深受鸦片之害，损伤元气，这也是他年仅56岁就过早去世的原因。
 

任伯年的绘画发轫于民间艺术，他重视继承传统，融汇诸家之长，吸收了西画的速写、设色诸法，形成自己丰姿多采、新颖生动的独特画风。
任伯年精于写像，是一位杰出的肖像画家。人物画早年师法萧云从、陈洪绶、费晓楼、任熊等人。工细的仕女画近费晓楼，夸张奇伟的人物画法陈洪绶，装饰性强的街头描则学自任董，后练习铅笔速写，变得较为奔逸，晚年吸收华（岩）笔意，更加简逸灵活。传神作品如《三友图》、《沙馥小像》、《仲英小像》等，可谓神形毕露。
任伯年的个人艺术造诣来看，花鸟画的本领比较高，若以当时画坛的情况而言，他的人物影响比较大，原因是当时画人物画家少，成就高者更少，象任伯年这样造诣，自然推至旁首。
任伯年的花鸟画更富有创造，富有巧趣，早年以工笔见长，“仿北宋人法，纯以焦墨钩骨，赋色肥厚，近老莲派。后吸取恽寿平的没骨法，陈淳、徐渭、朱耷的写意法，笔墨趋于简逸放纵，设色明净淡雅，形成兼工带写，明快温馨的格调，这种画法，开辟了花鸟画的新天地，对近、现代产生了巨大的影响。
任伯年的山水画创作不多，早年师法石涛，中年以后兼取明代沈周、丁云鹏、蓝瑛、并上追元代吴镇、王蒙、以纵肆、劲真的笔法见长。
19世纪80年代是任伯年创作的鼎盛时期，创作题材上范围扩大了，具有深刻的社会内容，用隐晦的手段寄寓深情。90年代，数量很多，但从作品的思想性看似乎没有超出80年代，但艺术手法上则更加熟练，大胆、概括，特别是花鸟画，达到“炉火纯青”的佳境。
 

任伯年的花鸟画创作,大致可分为三个阶段。早在同治到光绪初,他临摹陈洪绶的双钩填彩,并受族叔任熊、任熏工笔重画彩画的指点,直追“仿北宋人法,纯以焦墨钩骨,赋色浓厚”,宋人画花鸟倍极工细,一丝不苟的写实画在任伯年的作品得到体现。《荷花》一张石绿的茶叶,将画面分为上下各半,画外半张荷叶伸向画内左下角,打破了画面的平衡,荷叶叶面、叶背,颜色深浅不同,荷叶边缘用浅赭石,以示老叶破碎,叶劲以浓墨勾勒,淡墨双勾荷梗,色黄绿,梗上长满类尖锐的尖刺。在大块石绿荷叶的旁边,盛开着洁白的荷花,妍丽娇嫩,犹如含羞的凄,仅露半脸。施色清柔透明,水分饱满,表现出荷花的质感。在浅而簿的花瓣上,又以细毫、淡黄色线勾出花瓣上的网络脉纹。金黄色的花蕊,明丽莹润,仿佛使人感到在日光下荷花鲜翠欲滴、香气扑鼻。荷花叶旁,长着茂密的水草,繁而不乱,以浅赭色,色彩清丽,勾勒精细。整个画面,单纯古朴,给人清新神怡之感。
任伯年的花鸟画
水草金鱼1868年
新秋浴鹅1870年
芭蕉燕子1872年
水仙飞禽1872年
三阳开泰1874年
四季平安1877年
桃柏双燕图
芙蓉白头(折扇)1879年

任伯年尴尬遇恩师
中国海派著名画家任伯年早年出身贫寒，15岁时为生活所迫来到上海，靠卖自己画的扇面维持生计。一次，他偶然听到几个人谈论著名画家任渭长的画很是不错，于是就决定借用任渭长的大名卖几幅假画。几天后，他精心绘制了几幅扇面，拿到街上卖，果然生意很好，日子也一天比一天好起来了。
有一天，一个人从他这里经过，看到地摊上的几幅扇面，止步观看，看了一会儿问道："这扇面是谁画的？"。"任渭长画的"任伯年随口答道。"任渭长是你什么人？""是我叔叔。""你见过他么？""这……"这个人见任伯年无言以对，笑了笑说："我就是任渭长。"任伯年惊得目瞪口呆，随即想跑，任渭长赶忙拉住他，和蔼的说："你干吗要假冒我的名字呢？你画的也很不错呀。"任伯年羞愧难当，含泪将实情告诉了任渭长，任渭长对他的遭遇深表同情，觉得他的画画很有灵气，便收他作了徒弟。自此以后，任伯年随任渭长、任阜长兄弟俩学画，进而成为名扬全国的"海派"大师。

Ren Yi (1840-1896), that Ren Bo, the late Qing Dynasty famous painter. The name of Run, word times, number of small buildings, later renamed the word, the word year, alias mountain vagina ascendant, Shou Taoist, to word line, Zhejiang Shan Yin dockyard Hill (now Hangzhou Xiaoshan District). RenBoNian is China's outstanding painter, in the "four term" among the most outstanding achievements, is the "sea school" in the crowd, "one of the four Shanghai". RenBoNian painting began in folk art, he attached great importance to inherit the tradition, the integration of the length of various home, absorbing the Western painting sketches, coloring various laws to form their own rich and lush, novel and vivid unique style, enriched the Chinese painting Connotation.
Historical figures
Ren Born in the Opium War of the Qing Dynasty nineteen years (1840), died in twenty-two years Guangxu (1896). Is the leader of the Shanghai School of painting figures and outstanding representatives, and Ren Xiong, Ren Xun, any pre-collectively known as "Shanghai four", and Pu Hua, Xu Gu, Wu Changshuo collectively known as the "Shanghai four".
At the end of five Qing Dynasty, Shanghai had become the largest commercial port in China. It was called the "Ten Mile Land". At that time, all over the country were concentrated in Shanghai to sell gold. In the field of painting art, due to the influence of the Shanghai painting by the change of ancient times, the traditional way is already a spent force, so the innovative painter and new style came into being, Ren Boian is one of the best.
Ren Bornian living in a folk artist family, father Ren Sheng crane is a folk portrait, uncle Ren Xiong, two Bo Ren Kaoru, is a famous painter. From time to time by the family, has been able to paint. Ten years old, a home visitors, sat for a moment to leave, his father came back to ask who is, Bo can not answer the name, then pick up the paper, the visitors to draw, his father read, . This shows that Ren Bo years to master the portrait painting techniques.
RenBoNian in teenage youth, in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom army "palm banner", at that time the flag is bigger, "wartime reptile, think predecessor". Until the fall of Tianjing, Ren Bo years before returning to his hometown, to Shanghai with the Xiong Ren Ren Renxue painting. After a long time in Shanghai to sell paintings for a living. RenBoNian was straightforward, slovenly, learning to draw nearly 30 years old, draw more and more famous fame, but its physical and mental suffering from opium, damage strength, which is only 56 years old died of premature reasons.
 

RenBoNian painting began in the folk art, he attached importance to inherit the tradition, the integration of the long home, absorbing Western sketches, coloring all kinds of law, to form their own rich and colorful, novel and vivid unique style.
Ren Bonian proficient in portrait, is an outstanding portrait painter. Figure painting early Xiaofu from, Chen Hongshou, Fei Xiaolou, Ren Xiong and others. Fine painting of the ladies painting near Fei Xiaolou, exaggerated Qi Wei's character painting Chen Hongshou, decorative street description of the school since the Dong, after practice pencil sketch, become more Ben Yat, later years of absorption Hua (rock) pen Italy, more simple Yi flexible . Vivid works such as the "Three Friends of the map", "Sha Fu small like", "Zhong Ying small like", can be described as divinity

Ren Boian's personal artistic attainments, the ability to draw flowers and birds is relatively high, if the circumstances of the painting at the time, the impact of his characters is relatively large, because at that time less painter painting, the higher the less, Year so accomplished, naturally pushed to the side of the first.
RenBoNian flower-and-bird painting is more creative, full of clever, early to fine brushwork, "imitation of the Northern Song Dynasty method, pure to focus on ink hook bone, color color hypertrophy, near the old lotus." Yun Shouping after bone method, Chen Chun, Xu Wei, Zhu Da's freehand method, pen and ink tends to Jane Yi indulgence, the color is bright and clean and elegant, the formation of concurrent work with writing, crisp and warm style, this painting, opened up a new world of flowers and birds, the modern, Impact.
RenBoNian landscape painting creation is not much, the early years of Shitao, middle-aged and after the Ming Dynasty Shen Zhou, Ding Yunpeng, blue Ying, and on the recovery of the Yuan Dynasty Wuzhen, Wang Meng, to Stanford, Jin really pen known.
In the 1880's, Ren Bonian's creative period, the scope of subject matter expanded, with profound social content, with obscure means to send deep feeling. 90 years, the number of many, but the works of thought does not seem to go beyond the 80's, but the artistic approach is more skilled, bold, general, especially flower and bird paintings, to achieve a "consummate" nirvana.

RenBoNian flower and bird painting creation, can be divided into three stages. As early as the Tongzhi to Guangxu early, he copied the Chen Hongshou double hook color, and by the family Uncle Xiong, Ren Yan Meticulous painting painting instructions, catching the "imitation of the Northern Song Dynasty method, the pure ink hook bone, Fu color strong ", The Song dynasty painting birds and flowers extremely fine, meticulous realism in Ren Bo's works are reflected. "Lotus" a stone green tea, the picture is divided into upper and lower halves, painting outside the semi-Zhang leaves to the lower left corner of the painting, breaking the balance of the screen, lotus leaf surface, leaf back, different shades of color, Leaf edge with shallow ocher, to show the old leaves broken, Ye Jin to thick ink outline, light ink double hook load stems, color yellow green, stems on the class covered with sharp spikes. In the large stone green lotus leaf next to the white lotus in full bloom, Yan Li delicate, like a shy desolate, only half-face exposed. Shi color transparent and transparent, full of water, showing the lotus texture. In the shallow petals on the book, again fine cents, pale yellow line tick petals on the network veins. Golden stamens, bright and shiny, as if to make people feel in the sunlight for the drop of fresh lotus, fragrant. Lotus leaf next to the long lush plants, but not chaotic, with shallow ocher, color Qingli, outlined fine. The whole screen, simple and simple, giving a fresh sense of the sense of joy.
Any of the flowers and birds painting
Water grass goldfish 1868
New Autumn Bathing Geese, 1870
Basho swallows in 1872
Narcissus Fowl 1872
Sanyang Kaitai 1874
Four Seasons Peace 1877
Peach cypress Shuangyan map
Furong white head (folding fan) 1879