石渠寶笈續編(乾清宮),第一冊,頁402&*故宮書畫錄(卷五),第三冊,頁320&*故宮書畫圖錄,第六冊,頁201-202&* 沈周(西元一四二七-○九年),字啟南,號石田,江蘇長洲人。能詩文,工書法,又善山水、花鳥、人物畫,是明四大家之一。 弘治己酉(一四八九)三月十七日,吳愈調守敘州,文士友人一行十三人,為之餞行賦詩,由沈周寫此圖以紀勝。設色雅淡,人物衣描粗細合度,用筆寫意中帶精謹。幅面狹長,山勢呈「之」字形走向,益增高遠平闊之感。 &*An Elegant Gathering of Famous Worthies Shen Chou (1427-1509) Ming Dynasty Shen Chou, a native of Soochow, was gifted at poetry, prose, calligraphy, and painting, especially landscapes, birds-and-flowers, and figures. He was one of the Four Great Masters of the Ming. On the 17th day of the 3rd lunar month of 1489, 13 scholar-friends gathered at Hsü-chou to bid farewell to Magistrate Wu Yü. They wrote poems and verse and asked Shen to paint and inscribe this painting as a memento for the occasion. The coloring is elegant and the drapery lines vary from fine to coarse, in which the brushwork appears sketchy but also has a fine and controlled manner. Since the painting is long and narrow, the hills are compressed to zigzag and thus suggest a sense of deep distance and openness.