清 Qing dynasty
冊 紙本設色 Album leaf, ink and colors with gold on paper
28.5cm (H) x 32.9cm (W)
沈振麟(十九世紀)，字鳳池，吳縣人(今江蘇蘇州)。於咸豐、同治年間(1851-1874年)供奉內廷畫院，畫名甚高，慈禧太后(1835-1908年)曾頒賜親筆手書「傳神妙手」匾額。古人以貓、蝶諧音「耄耋」，寓有祝賀長壽之意。本作共分上、下兩冊，墨箋上以金粉等礦物性顏料，描繪戲耍飛舞的貓、蝶與各種應時花卉。精緻富麗的圖繪在深暗底色的反襯之下，顯得分外活潑討喜，照人眼明。
Shen Zhenlin (artist name Fengchi), a native of Wuxian (modern Suzhou, Jiangsu) served the Qing court Painting Academy in the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns (1851-1874). He specialized in gures and portraits but also excelled at sketching birds and flowers from life as well as landscapes. Famous for his painting, Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) awarded him a plaque that she personally inscribed: “To a miraculous hand that transmits the spirit”.and owers from life as well as landscapes. Famous for his painting, Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) awarded him a plaque that she personally inscribed: “To a miraculous hand that transmits the spirit”.In ancient times, people used the homonym of “cat” and “butter y” for “octogenarian” and “septuagenarian” to express birthday wishes for a venerated elder. This work is composed of two albums rendered with gold and other mineral-based pigments on black paper to depict cats and butter ies playing and roaming among owers of the seasons. The rich and exquisite paintings, with colors set off against a dark background, are especially lively, adorable and eye-catching.
