Scholar in Bamboo Shade《竹阴高士图轴》

Huang Shanshou (1855–1919)
Huang Shanshou, originally named Yao, courtesy names Xuchu and Xuchu, and pseudonyms Lisheng, Xu Daoren, and Huxi Waishi, was from Wujin (present-day Changzhou), Jiangsu. He excelled in painting figures, landscapes, flowers, and animals, especially in ink dragons. For figures, he favored meticulous brushwork and vibrant colors, influenced by Gai Qi and Fei Danxu. His landscapes were renowned for their rich and elegant coloring. His flower and bird paintings skillfully combined the Wujin school’s boneless technique with the traditional double-outline method. In his early years, he made a living as a private tutor, and after 1901, he moved to Shanghai, becoming a prominent artist of the Shanghai School.

“Scholar in Bamboo Shade”
This painting depicts the poetic scene from the poem “A Man with a Straw Hat Sits Under Bamboo Shade” by Zhang Zhi from the Song dynasty’s “The Blooming of Roses.” The painting shows an elderly man sitting calmly on a stone on a hillside, wearing a straw hat and a red-brown wide-sleeved long robe, gazing into the distance as if in contemplation. A young attendant in green clothing stands nearby, holding a bamboo staff. The bamboo forest and landscape serve as a backdrop, highlighting the character’s noble and leisurely demeanor. The seal “Shanshou” is affixed below the inscription, and a supplementary poem by Jin Jishi, a famous artist from Shanghai, is inscribed at the upper left.

黄山寿（1855—1919），原名曜，字旭初、勖初，号丽生、旭道人、鹤溪外史等，江苏武进（今常州）人。善画人物、山水、花卉、走兽，尤擅画墨龙。凡写人物仕女，喜用工笔重彩，从改琦、费丹旭化出。山水以青绿声名最著，设色艳而不俗。花鸟神态逼肖，融合常州派没骨法与传统双勾法。早岁以客幕为生，辛丑年后鬻艺海上，是海派著名画家。

此画为黄山寿写“葛巾人坐竹阴斜”诗意，诗内容出自宋张鎡的 《薝卜花盛开因赋四韵》。图绘一老翁静坐于山坡石上，头戴葛巾，衣着红褐宽袖长袍，望向远处，神态自若，似在沉思。前有一青衣童子手持竹杖在旁侍立。竹林山水皆为人物衬景，衬托出人物的高洁悠闲。款下钤白文“山寿”章，画面左上方有海上名家金吉石补题七绝一首。