黃公望、吳鎮、倪瓚、王蒙為元代文人繪畫之代表人物，史稱「元四家」。黃公望的山水蒼莽秀逸，其筆墨灑脫，境界高曠以渾厚見長；吳鎮的山水質樸無華，其筆力雄渾圓勁、墨氣淋漓，以沉鬱見長；倪瓚的山水蕭散古淡，其章法簡潔凝鍊，意境空靈簡遠，以疏淡見長；王蒙的山水鬆秀繁密，喜用繁線密點，構圖充實茂密，情境深邃幽遠，以刻畫秀潤見長。四家的繪畫風格由於家庭成長之背景、師承遭遇以及後來個人對藝術創作體會之不同，而形成不同的面貌，即使處於同一朝代，其繪畫仍有十分明顯的個人風格.
The so-called Four Great Master - Huang Kung-wang, Ni Tsan, Wang Meng and Wu Chen - are the representative artists of the Chinese literati painting of Yuan Dynasty. Huang Kung-wang’s ashy and bushy landscapes appear to be boundless, indistinct yet beautiful and in leisure, with free and easy pen and ink. His works had achieved a state of noble and refined appreciation of nature. The essence of Wu Chen's landscape is simplicity. His brush stroke is vigorous in round motions, with facile ink and water spreading, producing a rich and thick ambience. Ni Tsan’s brush work is sketchily and spontaneous, with expansive and elegant composition. His masterpieces exhibit a world of simplicity, leisure and desolation. Wang Meng prefers to use solid, dense brush strokes and dots. His composition is rich yet ordered with room and figures. His style demonstrated a sense of profoundness, concentration in fullness. Their works followed the traditional line of Chinese culture in history, developed under Mongols rule. The four masters' styles exhibit unique personal flavors due to different background, teaching and understanding of the art.
