Best known for his bold brushwork and vivid colors, he excelled in bird-and-flower painting, figure painting, and portraits of elegant ladies. His works typically embody the expressive and dynamic aesthetics of the Shanghai School. However, this piece reveals a more meticulous and refined side of his artistry, adopting a carefully composed landscape style. The willow tree, boat, and rocky slopes are rendered with fine, precise brushstrokes, departing from the broad, expressive lines characteristic of the Shanghai School. Instead, the work aligns closely with the Song Dynasty academy painting tradition, evoking the "light coloring" aesthetic associated with Southern Song masters Ma Yuan and Xia Gui.

While the Shanghai School is often linked to innovation and commercial appeal, this work demonstrates Ren Yu’s deep engagement with classical techniques. Its serene and meditative atmosphere not only reflects the legacy of Song painting but also illustrates how certain late Qing Shanghai School artists revisited and reinterpreted classical Chinese traditions.

任预以自由洒脱、海派风格著称，尤擅花鸟、仕女及人物画，笔触豪放，色彩浓烈。然而，这幅扇面展现了其细腻柔和的一面，采用工整精致的山水画风格。柳树、小船与坡石的描绘以精细勾勒为主，有别于海派常见的粗放笔触，更接近宋代院体画的传统。设色素雅，充满“宋人淡彩”的韵味，源溯南宋马远、夏圭規矩。尽管海派以创新与市场化闻名，此作却展现了任预对宋代传统技法的娴熟掌握。其静谧幽远的意境，既是对宋代画家精神的传承，也反映了晚清时期部分海派画家对古典绘画的回归与再诠释。

signed Lifan Ren Yu, dated renwu (1882), summer, the sixth lunar month, inscribed "Reimagined in the style of Song masters from memmory, in Wujun." with one seal of the artist, yu
款識：壬午（1882）夏六月，背擬宋人本於吳郡。立凢任預。鈐印：「預」