The Five Sages Terrace, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou

Views of Tiger Hill depicts a historic site a few miles northwest of Suzhou. The scenes simulate a visit from arriving by boat at the foot of the mountain to climbing to Cloudy Cliff Monastery. Representations of the artist’s mature style, Shen Zhou included views in subtle colors in the suite of monochrome scenes.

A Suzhou native, Shen Zhou was supported by family wealth and rejected an official career in favor of life as a retired scholar. Turning to painting in midlife, he is regarded as the founder of the Wu School of painting, with its center in Suzhou.

An ink and slight color painting on paper depicts a horizontal landscape. Open pavilions with dark tiled roofs and pale pink walls cluster on a craggy hillside to our left. Seven small figures walk on winding staircases or stand on a wide terrace. Detailed brushwork forms the leafy trees and tall pines. To our right, the land gives way to a misty, pale expanse. A red square seal marks the lower right corner.

The Five Sages Terrace, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou

after 1490

Shen Zhou

(Chinese, 1427–1509)

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

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