故宮書畫錄(卷八),第四冊,頁165&* 項聖謨(西元一五九七至一六五八年),秀水(浙江嘉興)人。字孔彰,號易庵,又號胥山樵,別號松濤散仙、存存居士。元汴孫。工書及篆刻,善山水人物花卉。家貧志潔,鬻畫自給,說者謂子京有此文孫,不負好古鑒賞,百年食報之勝事。卒年六十二。 本幅金箋本,紙性不易吸水,筆頓處遂常凝聚墨色,反使此畫面突顯了花葉向背的分別。海棠幹分兩枝,向左右延伸,雖取物單一,却在畫家精細觀察,運用沒骨寫意筆法下,展現了向榮翠豔的風貌。本幅選自「名人畫扇」冊。 &* Hsiang Sheng-mo (style name K’ung-chang, sobriquet I-an) was the grandson of the famed collector Hsiang Yüan-pen. Although he was born into a poor family, they felt fortunate that Sheng-mo also cherished and collected ancient artifacts, thus continuing a family legacy. Hsiang’s fortes were calligraphy, and the painting of landscapes, figures and flowers. He died when he was 62 years of age. This painting was executed on gold-flecked paper which does not readily absorb water. Thus, the points at which the brush was pressed down on the painting surface often evidence concentrations of ink, resulting in a great contrast between flowers, leaves, and their background. The cherry-apple branches represented here was depicted after very careful observation. The artist’s use of the impressionistic “boneless” technique has rendered cherry-apple blossoms in their bright, fresh charm.