苦瓜修竹Bitter Melons and Bamboo

A small round painting on card, plain and spare. Two bitter melons lie aslant across the circle, outlined and filled in pale green, the bumps on their skins dotted in dark green so they look true to life. Behind them a few stems of bamboo are swept in with dark ink, the leaves bending and lifting, the joints of the stems fine and firm. There is no heavy colour and much bare card, a quiet elegance in the manner of a scholar’s small sketch.

The painting carries no title, only the signature Jumei; this one describes the picture. The bitter melon and the hollow-stemmed bamboo together suggest a modest, upright life.

此为卡纸圆光小品，构图简淡。苦瓜两条斜卧画中，以淡绿勾廓填色，瓜面疣突以墨绿点出，层次分明，质感逼真；其后修竹数竿，以浓墨撇叶，竹叶俯仰有致，竿节细劲。画面不施重彩，大片留白，清淡之中自有雅致，颇有文人小品的意趣。

此幅未题画名，仅署“菊梅”，题目依画意拟定。苦瓜清苦、修竹虚心，取清白自守之意。