石渠寶笈初編(御書房),下冊,頁1155 &*故宮書畫錄(卷五),第三冊,頁151&*故宮書畫圖錄,第三冊,頁127&*1.譚怡令,〈宋人畫子母雞圖〉,收入譚怡令編,《畫?珍禽》(臺北:國立故宮博物院,1988年十月初版),頁85。 &*本幅畫一母雞,引領著五隻孵出不久的小雞,在地上漫步啄食。母雞雪白的羽毛蓬鬆亮麗,目光充滿著慈愛,小雞則稚嫩怯弱,依偎在母親的羽翼保護下。由於背景全部用墨塗黑,使得主題格外突出。 畫中,並沒有作者的簽名或印記,雖然不能肯定是宋代的作品,但畫家對於物象的觀察細膩入微,無疑是一幀寫生意味濃厚的院畫傑作。&*In this work, a mother hen leads five young chicks as they walk around in their search for food. The endearingly beautiful and soft snow-white down of the chicks make them appear tender and frail, requiring the protecting eye of the mother hen. Unusual for Chinese painting, the background was completely filled with dark ink to make the white subjects stand out even more. This painting has neither seal nor signature of the artist. Although not for certain a work of the Sung dynasty, the artist here certainly was an astute observer of these animals, which were painted with exceptional detail and naturalism. Thus, this is almost certainly a masterpiece of court painting, in which realism and precision were often sought.