宋 Sung dynasty
42.5cm (H) x 32.4cm (W)
冊 紙本設色 Album leaf, ink and colors on paper
王凝，江南人，熙寧(1068-1077年)前曾任畫院待詔。工花竹翎毛，《宣和畫譜》稱其「下筆有法，頗得生意」。王凝傳世畫作甚少，此作描繪母雞攜雛啄飼，以母雞為中心，翅膀微張，庇護八隻神情各異的小雛雞。畫家重視寫生，觀察入微，具有形神兼備的宋代院體畫風貌。
Wang Ning, a native of Jiangnan, served as a Painter-in-Attendance at the Painting Academy prior to the Xining reign (1068-1077). He excelled at painting flowers, bamboo, and birds. In the Xuanhe Painting Catalog, he is described as “Having method when applying the brush, achieving a sense of vitality”. Surviving paintings by Wang Ning are quite rare. This work shows a hen with her chicks pecking for food. The focus is on the hen, with her wings slightly open to protect the eight chicks shown in a variety of poses. The painter placed special emphasis on “sketching from life” and paid close attention to the subject, making this a work that fuses both form and spirit in the Sung academic style.
