1490
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Thousand Acres of Clouds, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou is a 1490 unspecified by Shen Zhou, a Ming Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a tall, misty mountain with tiny trees and a winding path leading to a temple near the top. Shen Zhou painted this scene in black ink, letting the paper show through to create soft clouds. He never visited Tiger Hill—he imagined the view from old poems and stories. The quiet brushstrokes make the mountain feel far away, like a memory. If you like this, look up more paintings of china, ming dynasty (1368–1644).
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.
Shen Zhou here painted the view over the Thousand Acres of Clouds.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Shen Zhou spent his life in the Suzhou region of China, where his family’s money and connections mattered more than art—until it did.
See the richer artist page
