Plum Blossoms and Scholar《梅花高士图轴》

Zheng Dai (dates unknown)
Zheng Dai, courtesy name Zaodong, pseudonyms Danquan and Ruishi Shiren, was from Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou), Zhejiang. He was a close friend of Hua Yan in poetry and painting. Art critics praised Hua Yan for his exceptional style and Zheng Dai for his skill. Zheng Dai excelled in painting ladies and flowers, with particularly strong skills in landscapes.

“Plum Blossoms and Scholar” (1739)
This painting features a concise composition, with axe-cut strokes depicting rocks that are powerful and vigorous. An old plum tree with gnarled branches and blooming flowers rendered in lead white appears crystalline and delicate, resembling stars. The ink bamboo is also elegant and refined. In the lower left, a scholar reclines leisurely against a rock, his demeanor natural and lifelike. The inscription reads: “At the end of winter in the year of Jiwei, painted by Ruishi Shiren Zheng Dai,” with two seals in red and white, “Zheng Dai” and “Zaodong.”

郑岱，生卒年不详，字在东，号澹泉、瑞石山人，钱塘（今浙江杭州）人。与华嵒为诗画之友。画史评华嵒以逸胜，郑岱以能胜。仕女、花卉笔极苍劲，山水尤佳。

此画构图凝练，以斧劈皴表现山石，遒劲有力。石旁一株老梅，枝干虬劲曲折，梅花以铅白点染，晶莹剔透，似星星点点，墨竹亦淡逸雅致。画左下方石旁倚坐一位悠然自得的高士，人物设色淡雅，神情自然生动。落题：“己未冬杪，瑞石山人郑岱写。”钤朱文“郑岱”、白文“在东”二印。