The scroll of Wei Xiangao

[Wei Xian Gao Shi Tu Volume]

Gao Shi Tu Volume, Five Dynasties, Wei Xian’s work, silk, color, 134.5 cm vertical, 52.5 cm horizontal
There is no style in this picture. The title of the thin gold book of Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, is “The Painting of Wei Xian and Gao Shi”. Although it is a vertical picture, it is mounted in the form of a scroll, which is the “Xuanhe Clothes” of the Northern Song Dynasty
It depicts the story of Liang Hong, a hermit in the Han Dynasty, and his wife Meng Guang, who “treated each other as a guest and raised eyebrows”. The painter arranged Liang Hong’s residence in the nature surrounded by mountains and water. The upper part of the picture is surrounded by huge peaks, the distant mountains are vast, and the lower part is surrounded by bamboo trees, and the streams are rippling. The figure activity is in the middle of the picture, which is exactly the visual center of the viewer: Liang Hongduan sits on the couch, the books on the bamboo table are spread horizontally, Meng Guang kneels on both knees, and the food plate lamp is raised to the eyebrow. The protagonist looks calm and peaceful. Although the house is simple and rough, and he eats cloth and clothing, the noble and noble interest of the hermit in the mountains and the countryside is a source of admiration
Although this picture is a thematic figure painting, it actually integrates landscape, figure and architectural painting. The mountains and rocks are mostly rubbed with dry brush. Pay attention to the contrast between the depth of the ink color to emphasize the concave-convex and dignified texture of the peaks and hills. The technique of using dry brush to touch the moss on the rocks is even more original by the painter. The house and wooden fence are painted with boundary brush, the structure is precise and clear, and can show a certain three-dimensional sense and depth relationship. It is one of the earliest architectural paintings of “planting columns and beams” in the handed down scroll paintings that we can see today
This picture has been recorded in books such as The Record of Clouds and Mists Passing through the Eyes by Zhou Mi of the Song Dynasty, The Painting Boat of the Qinghe River by Zhang Chou of the Ming Dynasty, The Records of Gengzi Selling the Summer by Sun Chengze of the Qing Dynasty, An Qi’s Collection of Monuments, The Collection of Treasures of Shiqu, The Continuation, and Ruan Yuan’s Essays on Shiqu, which is an authentic work of five generations of Wei sages that has been handed down and accepted by the appraisal community.