梅兰竹菊四条屏Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum: A Set of Four Panels

A set of four hanging panels, one each for the plum, the orchid, the bamboo and the chrysanthemum, each with its flowers, its birds and a line of verse in the painter’s hand. Plum: a mossy old trunk leans in from the lower left, its new shoots dotted with red blossom, and two small birds nestle together on a branch. Orchid: a steep rock rubbed in with ochre and ink, orchid leaves sweeping from its top beside sprays of red berries, one bird on the rock and another flying in. Bamboo: tall stems in dark and pale ink, and two sparrows tumbling down through the leaves. Chrysanthemum: a pair of doves on a great rock, and below, pink and yellow blooms with thread-like petals.

Each panel is dated autumn of the yisi year (2025). Plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum are the “four gentlemen” of Chinese painting, emblems of integrity: together they span the four seasons.

此为四条屏，梅、兰、竹、菊各写一屏，每屏一花一禽，自题诗句。梅屏：老干自左下斜出，苔痕斑驳，新枝四展，红梅没骨点染，墨笔挑蕊，枝头小鸟一对相依；兰屏：坡石峭立，赭墨皴擦，兰叶自石顶撇出，旁衬红果数枝，一鸟立于石端，一鸟振翅飞来；竹屏：修竹数竿，浓淡分出前后，竹叶攒聚，两雀翻飞而下；菊屏：巨石上双鸠并栖，石下菊花粉黄相间，丝瓣攒簇，叶间点以石绿。

四屏皆署乙巳秋月。梅傲雪，兰幽芳，竹虚心，菊凌霜，世称“四君子”，各寓清高之节。四屏笔墨一贯，设色清丽，合而观之，四时之气俱备。