石渠寶笈續編(養心殿),第二冊,頁1068&*故宮書畫錄(卷八),第四冊,頁85&*故宮書畫圖錄,第九冊,頁141-142 &* 趙左(活動於西元十七世紀前期),字文度,華亭(上海市松江)人,與宋懋晋俱學於宋旭,其畫宗董源,兼有倪黃之意,煙雲生動,烘染得法,間用焦墨枯筆為之,效果甚佳。 本幅高山偉阿,枯枝交錯,多處以留白襯托寒崖茫茫白雪,林中村舍及四周渺無人蹤,愈發顯得寒意凜然,景物蕭瑟,其舖陳寒冬雪景,確是高手。畫之左上角,趙左自題「寒崖積雪,丙辰(西元一六一六年)仲夏十日」,楷書秀逸,甚為難得。 &* Chao Tso (style name Wen-tu) was a native of Hua-t’ing (modern Sungchiang, Shanghai). Along with Sung Mou-chin, he studied painting from Sung Hsü, who took the styles and ideas of Tung Yuan (fl. 937-976) as well as Ni Tsan (1301-1374) and Huang Kung-wang (1269-1354). Chao’s rendition of mists and clouds was very lively, and he was gifted at using washes of ink, using dry ink to achieve wondrous effects of light and dark. In this depiction of criss-crossing withered trees on majestic mountains, many places have been left untouched by the artist to indicate a blanket of snow covering the trees and cliffs. Despite the appearance of a village in the woods, not a soul is to be seen anywhere, enhancing the desolate and remote feeling of winter. The scenery is indeed lonely and such a convincing display of a snowy winter scene that it most definitely is from the hand of a master. In the upper left corner of the painting is Chao Tso’s inscription, which reads, “'Thick Snow on Wintry Cliffs'; painted on the tenth day of the fifth lunar month in summer of the ping-ch’en year [1616].” The elegant style of his regular script provides the perfect complement to the painting.