The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Distant View of Tiger Hill from the Canal Mooring, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou

Distant View of Tiger Hill from the Canal Mooring, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou

after 1490
(Chinese, 1427–1509)
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Album leaf; ink on paper or ink and slight color on paper
Image: 31.5 x 40.6 cm (12 3/8 x 16 in.); Overall: 36.5 x 49.9 cm (14 3/8 x 19 5/8 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1964.371.1
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Here Shen Zhou depicted the view from the canal toward the Pagoda of the Cloudy Cliff Monastery, seen from afar. The history of Tiger Hill can be traced to the State of Wu (about 5th century BCE).

Description

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.
  • Hu Zhishou 胡之壽 [late 18th–mid 19th century)]
    Binliang 斌良 [1784–1847]
    Hou Shigong 侯士恭 [late 19th–early 20th century]
    ?-1964
    (Walter Hochstadter [1914–2007], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1964-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 263 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “Literati and Professionals: Four Ming Painters.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 53, no. 1, 1966, pp. 2–25. Reproduced: fig. 4 25152081
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 263 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 349 archive.org
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 245-251
    Karlsson,Kim. "Wanderlust: Painting "Famous Mountains and Unexcelled Places." In Longing for Nature: Reading Landscapes in Chinese Art. Kim Karlsson, and Alexandra von Przychowski, 146-203. Zürich: Museum Rietberg; Berlin: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2020. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 151
  • China's Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
    Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981: Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, cat. no. 155, p. 187-190.
    Asia House Gallery, 1974: Lee, Colors of Ink, cat. nos. 26 (B), 27 (E).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, 1954: Lee, Chinese Landscape Painting, cat. no. 51: 1-4 (B, E, F, J).
  • {{cite web|title=Distant View of Tiger Hill from the Canal Mooring, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou|url=false|author=Shen Zhou|year=after 1490|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.371.1