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Lot Essay
This painting was dedicated by Huang Binhong to Mo Peiyue (1905–1982), a renowned physician and the 29th generation descendant of the Mo clan of Ma Chung, Dongguan, Guangdong. The Mo family was celebrated for its scholarly heritage, tracing its lineage back to the Tang dynasty Grand Academician Mo Xuanqing (834–868). Over the centuries, the family amassed an impressive collection of antiquities and books. As the 28th generation heir, Mo Peiyue’s father, Mo Boji (1878–1958), established the “Hall of Five Hundred Thousand Volumes” to house this vast literary legacy.
In the following decades, much of the family’s rare book collection was dispersed or lost due to wartime upheaval and social turmoil. In the early 1940s, father and son relocated to Macau. In 1946, with introductions from two leading cultural figures of Hong Kong and Macau—Huang Jusu (1897–1986) and Wu Ming (1902–?)—Mo Peiyue and his father commissioned Huang Binhong to create three paintings depicting their three studios: Hall of Five Hundred Thousand Volumes, Yongyan Studio, and the present work, Studio of Abundant Shade (Lot 172). In these paintings, Huang composed his own poems, achieving a harmonious integration of painting, literature, and calligraphy.
The composition of Studio of Abundant Shade is open and tranquil, infused with the quiet details of daily life: a white walled pavilion, scholar’s rocks, a low table, and a potted plant with red foliage. Two figures sit upstairs reading together, evoking a serene moment of father and son engaged in literary discussion. The potted plants and garden elements in the courtyard reflect Mo Peiyue’s fondness for horticulture and were perhaps intentionally arranged by the artist. Huang Binhong once wrote to a patron, “If you send me a simple sketch of your surroundings, I shall render it with my humble brush,” revealing his characteristic commitment to portraying real settings when creating works for friends.
In the following decades, much of the family’s rare book collection was dispersed or lost due to wartime upheaval and social turmoil. In the early 1940s, father and son relocated to Macau. In 1946, with introductions from two leading cultural figures of Hong Kong and Macau—Huang Jusu (1897–1986) and Wu Ming (1902–?)—Mo Peiyue and his father commissioned Huang Binhong to create three paintings depicting their three studios: Hall of Five Hundred Thousand Volumes, Yongyan Studio, and the present work, Studio of Abundant Shade (Lot 172). In these paintings, Huang composed his own poems, achieving a harmonious integration of painting, literature, and calligraphy.
The composition of Studio of Abundant Shade is open and tranquil, infused with the quiet details of daily life: a white walled pavilion, scholar’s rocks, a low table, and a potted plant with red foliage. Two figures sit upstairs reading together, evoking a serene moment of father and son engaged in literary discussion. The potted plants and garden elements in the courtyard reflect Mo Peiyue’s fondness for horticulture and were perhaps intentionally arranged by the artist. Huang Binhong once wrote to a patron, “If you send me a simple sketch of your surroundings, I shall render it with my humble brush,” revealing his characteristic commitment to portraying real settings when creating works for friends.