《踏歌图》轴，南宋，马远作，绢本，设色，纵192.5cm，横111cm。
“踏歌”是中国南方乡间一个非常古老的习俗，村民们辛苦耕耘一年，终于迎来了丰收，于是全村的男女老幼，踏着节拍，边歌边舞，欢庆收获并感谢大自然的恩赐，就好像过年过节一样快乐热闹。
从表面上看，《踏歌图》像是一幅表现自然山川风貌的山水画，而实际是一幅描绘人间生活的风俗画。作者马远在图中安排了不多的几个点景人物，使画中的主题得到了充分的展示。画家并没有去描绘乡间踏歌盛况的全貌，而是选取了几个非常有代表性的乡民形象：一个中年村民，因为高兴多喝了几碗酒，步履蹒跚，摇摇晃晃，醉意十足，但是那个盛酒的葫芦却没有忘记，仍然好好地背在肩上；一个白胡子老汉，同样也喝了不少酒，一只手拄着拐杖，另一只手高高抬起，双脚离地，手舞足蹈，兴奋异常。他们的举止行为已与他们的年龄不相符合，所以显得特别滑稽可笑。作者马远描绘了这几个成年人之后，觉得还不足以表达欢快纵情的气氛，特地在画幅的左下角安排了男女两名幼童，他们回过身来，瞪着惊异的眼睛，看着自己的长辈，平时家长的恃重和威严怎么都没有了？年龄稍大的女孩，还用手捂住了嘴巴，偷偷在发笑。这两组点景人物相互呼应、相互衬托，把“踏歌”欢愉快乐的情绪推向了极致。可是细看图中，作者只不过画了六个人，却能将气氛渲染得如此充分。从这六个村民身上，完全可以感受到整个村庄中传出来的歌声、踏地的节拍声和欢快的笑声。画家马远“以一当十”、“以小见大”的艺术表现手法，实在是太高妙了。
几个人物在图中所占的位置很小，但却最为引人注目。人物线条挺拔刚劲，人物动态活泼有趣，都显示了马远不凡的技艺。
马远画山石的方法也极有特点。他运用毛笔的侧锋平扫，以表现陡峭的山势和坚硬石头的质感，山石犹如巨斧劈出一般，这种用笔的方法被人称之为“斧劈皴”，从《踏歌图》轴中亦可见一斑。在画幅的构图方面，马远也有创新。他喜欢将图中的山石集中于某一边角，形成虚实的对比，故此他有了“马一角”的称呼，当然在这件作品中这一特点不是十分明显。马远画树也有自己的习惯，他经常把树的枝条画得向下斜拖，所以有人将它归纳为四个字“拖枝马远”。
在马远的这幅《踏歌图》的上方，题有五言绝句一首，这是南宋皇帝宁宗赵扩抄录北宋王安石的诗句。诗为：“宿雨清畿甸，朝陽麗帝城，豐年人樂業，壟上踏歌行。”这是南宋皇帝对太平盛世的企盼，供奉宫廷的画院画家马远即以此诗为题作画。
--------Introduction in English--------
"Tagetu" axis, Southern Song Dynasty, Ma Yuanzu, silk, color, 192.5 cm vertical, 111 cm horizontal.
"Ta Ge" is a very ancient custom in the countryside of southern China. Villagers have worked hard for a year and finally ushered in a bumper havest. So the whole village of men and women, old and young, step on the beat, sing and dance, celebrate the harvest and thank nature for its gifts, as happy as the New Year's Day.
On the surface, "Tage Tu" is like a landscape painting showing the natural landscape, but in fact it is a custom painting depicting human life. Ma Yuan, the author of the painting, arranged a number of scenery figures, which fully displayed the theme of the painting. Instead of describing the grand occasion of rural stepping songs, the painter chose several representative images of villagers: a middle-aged villager, who was happy to drink a few more bowls of wine, staggered, swaying and drunk, but the gourd was still well carried on his shoulders; an old man with a white beard, who also drank a lot of wine and a hand. With crutches, the other hand raised high, feet off the ground, hands dancing, excitement is abnormal. Their behaviour does not correspond to their age, so it seems particularly ridiculous. After describing these adults, Ma Yuan felt that it was not enough to express the atmosphere of joy and indulgence. In the lower left corner of the picture, two boys and girls were specially arranged. They turned around, stared at their amazed eyes, and looked at their elders. Why did their parents'dignity and dignity disappear at ordinary times? Older girls also cover their mouths with their hands and secretly laugh. These two groups of characters echo each other and foil each other, pushing the happy mood of "stepping on a song" to the extreme. But looking closely at the picture, the author only drew six people, but can render the atmosphere so fully. From these six villagers, we can feel the song, the rhythm of footsteps and the happy laughter coming from the whole village. The artist Ma Yuan's artistic expression techniques of "one should be ten" and "one should see the big from the small" are really wonderful.
Several characters occupy a small but most noticeable position in the picture. The figure lines are straight and strong, and the characters are lively and interesting, which shows Ma Yuan's extraordinary skill.
Ma Yuan's method of painting mountains and stones also has its own characteristics. He uses the brush to sweep the side edge flat to show the steep mountain and the texture of hard stone. The stone is like a huge axe splitting out. This method of using the brush is called "axe splitting" and can be seen from the axis of "Stepping Song Picture". Ma Yuan has also made innovations in the composition of the pictures. He likes to concentrate the rocks in the picture on a certain corner to form a contrast between reality and fiction, so he has the title of "horse's corner", which is not very obvious in this work. Ma Yuan also has his own habit of drawing trees. He often draws the branches of trees downward obliquely, so it is summed up as four words "dragging horses far".
On the top of Ma Yuan's "Ta Ge Tu", there are five words and one sentence. This is a transcription of Wang Anshi's poems from the Northern Song Dynasty by Emperor Ningzong Zhao Chang of the Southern Song Dynasty. The poem reads: "Suyu Qingji Dian, Chaoyang Lidi City, happy young people, singing on the ridge." This is the expectation of the emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty for a peaceful and prosperous era. Ma Yuan, a painter of the Painting Academy who worshipped the court, painted on this poem.
