Flowers

Inscription: Artist’s inscriptions and signatures

Leaf A (1 column in cursive script):

[Signed] Hongruo

虹若


Leaf B (3 column in semi-cursive script):

Chen Laolian [Chen Hongshou 陳洪綬, 1599–1652] painted flowers with brilliant colors, wielding his brush energetically without a vestige of frivolous habits. I just follow his style.

陳老蓮花卉設色工麗而筆勢飛動，全無輕佻之習，偶師其意。


Leaf C (5 columns in semi-cursive script):

The double-outline technique employed in Song flower painting attained the highest subtlety by the Yuan dynasty with superior mastery of the brush and ink. I admired Dan’an in particular and copied a picture of his.

宋人雙鈎花卉至元方極其妙，以筆墨勝也。余於澹葊尤爲傾慕，玆一臨之。


Leaf D (4 columns in semi-cursive script):

The loftiness and transcendence of Qingxiang’s [Shitao 石濤, 1642–1707] flower painting is nothing short of serious substance. If done even a little casually, you would miss it.

清湘花卉高逸處無非凝重，若稍率易即為失之。


Leaf E (1 column in semi-cursive script):

Abbreviated brushwork does not mean casual execution. It should be like cast iron.

減筆非率易，當如鐵鑄成。


Leaf F (2 columns in semi-cursive/cursive script):

Tianchi Shanren’s [Xu Wei徐渭, 1521–1593] application of ink is wet and rich in tonal variation. I did it with color and felt I captured his spirit.

天池山人墨法淋漓變換，余以彩色爲之，亦覺神似。


Leaf G (2 columns in semi-cursive script):

For windblown branches and dew-strewn leaves, the natural look is most important. It is said that Tuojiang’s [Chen Kuo 陳括, 16th c.] flower painting stands in the same relation to his father Baiyang’s [Chen Chun 陳淳, 1483–1544] as Xian’s [Wang Xianzhi 王獻之, 344–385] calligraphy to Xi’s [Wang Xizhi 王羲之, 303–361].

[Translations by Keita Itoh and Lawrence Wu with Jean Schmitt and Caron Smith in Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, ed., Later Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: 1800-1950, Volume I: Text, New York: Random House, 1986, pp. 150–51. Modified. The Romanization of Chinese characters has been changed from the Wade-Giles system to the pinyin system.]

風枝露葉，全在自然。人謂沱江花卉於白陽若羲、獻。


Leaf H (1 column in cursive script):

[Signed] Hongruo

虹若


Artist’s seal

Pu Jushi 樸居士 (Leaf A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H)


Collectors’ seals

Chen Zhu 陳柱 (1890–1944)
Zhuzun zhenshang 柱尊珍賞 (Leaf A)
Zhuzun suocang 柱尊所藏 (Leaf D, F)
Chen Zhu yongshou 陳柱永壽 (Leaf E)
Chen Zhu jianding 陳柱鑒定 (Leaf G)
Chen Zhu shending 陳柱審定 (Leaf H)

An Siyuan 安思遠 (Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, 1929–2014)
An Siyuan cang 安思遠藏 (Leaf A, B, C, D, E, G)
Songpu Lu cang 松瀑廬藏 (Leaf F, H)

Unidentified
Shiwanjuan Lou 十萬卷樓 (Leaf B, C)
Jin gui Zhou zhai 今歸周齋 (Leaf D)

Robert H. Ellsworth Chinese, New York (until 1986; donated to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Painting: Selections from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection," February 2–September 25, 1988.

Williamstown. Williams College Museum of Art. "Innovation Within Tradition: The Paintings of Huang Binhong," October 21, 1989–December 17, 1989.

Taipei Fine Arts Museum. "Innovation Within Tradition: The Paintings of Huang Binhong," January 20, 1990–May 15, 1990.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "From Traditionalism to Expressionism," October 15, 1991–December 15, 1991.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Text and Image: The Interaction of Painting, Poetry, and Calligraphy," January 23–August 16, 1999.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Between Two Cultures: A Selection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Chinese Paintings from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection," January 30–August 19, 2001.