石渠寶笈續編(乾清宮),第一冊,頁513&*故宮書畫錄(卷六),第四冊,頁211&*吳炳,生卒年不詳。毘陵(今江蘇常州)人。南宋光宗紹熙(1190─1194),初任畫院待詔,畫花鳥寫生折枝,巧奪造化,采繪精緻富麗。 通幅工筆畫成,描寫細緻,但亦兼具水墨趣味。石榴之上白眉鶲探身迴首,姿態委婉;石榴二枚,一開一合,開者其子累累。中國以石榴多子象徵多子多孫,具吉祥意義,為花鳥畫常見題材之一。此幀選自「宋元集繪」冊第十七開。&*This entire painting is minutely, delicately executed; the brushwork is full of character. On a pomegranate branch a precocious yellow flycatcher pivots, cocking its head. The many seeds of one of the pomegranates are clearly visible. In china these seeds are symbolic of the wish for equally numerous children and grandchildren; little wonder, then ,that this auspicious fruit frequently figures in the flower-and-bird genre of painting. Wu Ping’s flower-and-bird paintings and paintings of sprays of flowers, which are done from nature, are quite realistic and reveal an exquisite sense of coloring. Wu served as Painter-in Attendance at the Academy of Painting in the 1190s.