石渠寶笈三編(延春閣),第三冊,頁1385&故宮書畫錄(卷四),第二冊,頁19 &故宮書畫圖錄,第十五冊,頁243-247&易元吉(約活動於十一世紀後半葉),湖南長沙人。字慶之。天資穎異,善畫得名。初工花鳥專門,但當他看到趙昌(北宋花鳥畫大家)畫作後,乃大為折服,認為要能成為名家,唯有擺脫前人舊習,於是他在湖南、湖北一帶搜奇訪古,深入萬守山區,觀察猿猴等物,經年累月,終有所得。他又曾經在長沙住所後,開鑿園圃、水池,蓄養水禽山獸,觀察它們的動靜作息,所以他的畫作極富有生趣,並且以畫猿為名。 本圖畫孫猴兒一隻,脖子上圍綁著粗繩,圈繫在地,兩隻小花貓,大概路經此地,不經意中,一為猴兒挾抱,另一則驚避回顧。畫中二小貓,全身毫毛皆用纖細的筆線,筆筆絲出,再加色暈染。黃花貓斑紋處是以淡赭墨染繪,毛色層次井然分明。盤坐在地的猴兒也是採同樣手法處理,然而毛髮更見豐盈毛絨,多而不亂。畫家除了在此展現出精巧的畫技外,捕捉動物生態,更有其獨到之處。無論是調皮搗蛋的頑猴;或是它懷中畏怯無奈的小貓;或是一旁怒目嘶叫、張牙舞爪的倖免者,這三者間生動的神情,及合於本性、出於自然的瞬間互動,都藉由畫家敏睿的觀察,和傳神的畫筆,舖陳出如此富有戲劇效果的畫面。作者傳神體物的繪畫表現,足能成為北宋人寫生寫實的藝事風格代表。 &I Yuan-chi was a native of Ch'ang-sha, Hunan. He at first specialized in painting birds and flowers. However, when he saw the works of Chao Ch'ang (a master in bird-and-flower painting), he decided to turn another subject in which no one had achieved fame. Going deep into the mountains of Hunan and Hupeh, he observed monkeys, gibbons, and other animals. Returning to Ch'ang-sha, he set up a garden to observe flora and fauna. Consequently, he achieved fame in painting the previously uncharted genre of monkeys. In this painting, a pet kitten with a red ribbon collar is held in the clutches of a monkey. With a calm yet mischievous look, it is tethered to a stake in the ground. Perhaps the kitten was caught as it was passing by the monkey. The kittens were rendered with extremely fine brushstrokes to which was added washes of color, and the monkey was rendered in the same manner. The satisfied monkey, fearful captured kitten, and angry other kitten have all been captured and portrayed by the artist in the dramatic scene shown here. Frozen in naturalistic positions against a blank background, the spirit and appearance appear quite true to life. The realism here accords with the ideals of naturalism sought by artists of the Northern Sung (960-1126).