It is from Huang’s inscription that the painting receives its name, Six Gentlemen:[1][2] Distant cloudy mountains range across the autumn river; Nearby, ancient trees huddle by the sloping shore.

[1] Another inscription, possibly by a different guest at Lu Heng’s house, volunteers its author as a model if Ni Zan should ever decide to add a fisherman to his painting later.

[1] The composition and brushwork of Six Gentlemen are simpler compared to Ni Zan’s earlier paintings, such as Enjoying the Wilderness in an Autumn Grove (1339) and Water and Bamboo Dwelling (1343), which had been influenced by the styles of Dong Yuan and Zhao Mengfu.

[1] His subsequent landscapes usually follow the same pattern: minimal compositions with a few trees, low mountains across a lake or river, occasionally an empty hut, and no human figures.

[8][6] Examples from Ni's later years include Empty Pavilion in a Pine Grove (1354), Wind among the Trees on the Riverbank (1363, painted after his wife's death), The Rongxi Studio (1372), and Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu (also 1372).