宋
軸 絹本設色
Sung dynasty
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk 166cm (H) x 107.9cm (W)
畫幅中的枝幹，筆不連而意連，足見佈局之匠心。幅中二猿，一隻坐在幹身上仰顎凝望，另一攀掛枝梢來回搖晃;二猿對看，情趣頓生。側重寫實的宋人，畫作著重傳物之神。畫家不但成功拿捏二猿的神態和靈性，更精準描繪了黑猿黑黝黝，毛茸茸的皮毛觸感，畫得似乎伸手可及，可見用墨一流。此外，石頭的堅硬、樹幹的斑剝、枇杷葉的翻折，也都描寫真實，用色精緻。這幅畫確為宋畫中大幅無款的精品。
An old loquat tree extends behind a rock and diagonally through this work as branches come back into the picture frame at the top, which demonstrates the artist’s skill at compositional arrangement. The seated gibbon holds onto the trunk of the tree and watches another gibbon who hangs playfully from a branch above and looks down. The artist not only successfully captures the furry texture of the gibbons, but also their movements and behavior. This attention to detail as well as to rendering their spirit is a hallmark of naturalism in Sung dynasty painting. In fact, the representation of the fur is so realistic that it looks as if it could be touched. This reveals the superb use of brush and ink on the part of the artist. Besides the convincing texture of the tree and rocks, the coloring is naturalistic and elegant, and the leaves also twist naturally in space. All these contribute to the mastery of this Sung dynasty painting.
