故宮書畫錄(卷六),第四冊,頁140&*故宮書畫圖錄,第二十四冊,頁272-273 &* 馬元馭(西元一六六九-一七二二年),江蘇常熟人。字伏羲,號棲霞,又號天虞山人。眉子。畫傳家法,而氣韻超逸突過乃父。賦性落拓,縱酒逞筆,乃益豪放。寫生得惲南田親得,又與蔣廷錫討論六法,故沒骨畫益工,神韻飛動,不泥陳跡。書亦雋雅。 此幅繪牡丹一朵,清雅可愛。作者自題仿宋人法所繪,時年三十五歲。 &*Flowers Ma Yüan-yü (1669-1722) Ch’ing Dynasty Ma Yüan-yü (style name Fu-hsi; sobriquets Ch’i-hsia and T’ien-yü shan-jen) was the son of the Ma Mei and a native of Ch’ang-shu, Kiangsu. Ma Yüan-yü inherited the family tradition of painting, but surpassed his father in informing his pictures with resonance. Being naturally unrestrained, Ma Yüan-yü indulged in drinking and painting to give his style a grand manner. In painting from life, he received the personal instruction of Yün Shou-p’ing and discussed the six principles of painting with Chiang T’ing-hsi. He consequently became a master of the “boneless” wash method of painting. He painted with energy and freedom and was not fettered by tradition. Furthermore, his calligraphy was very elegant. This is a painting of a peony blossom that is both elegant and cute. In Ma Yüan-yü’s inscription, he stated that he was imitating Sung dynasty (960-1279) methods of painting. The painting was done when the artist was 34-years old.