Artwork
Tiger-Flight Spring at the Back Gate, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Tiger-Flight Spring at the Back Gate, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou is an unspecified painting by the Yuan dynasty literati painting artist Shen Zhou. It dates from 1500 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
History & Provenance
The painting was later acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it entered the collection in 1964 as part of a gift or purchase accessioned as 1964.
The album leaf Tiger-Flight Spring at the Back Gate, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou was painted by Shen Zhou in 1500, as recorded in the artist’s dated colophon on the work. The painting was later acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it entered the collection in 1964 as part of a gift or purchase accessioned as 1964.371.10. No documented commission records survive, but the series format suggests it was produced as a private commission or for a coterie of Suzhou literati patrons who favored Shen’s lyrical landscape mode. The work’s transmission into the Cleveland Museum’s holdings marks the only recorded institutional provenance.
The painting Tiger-Flight Spring at the Back Gate, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio. The work, created by Shen Zhou around 1500, carries the accession number 1964.371.10 within the museum's records. No specific exhibition history is documented in the provided sources.
Overview
Tiger‑Flight Spring at the Back Gate is a hand‑scroll painting executed around 1500 by the Ming‑dynasty scholar‑artist Shen Zhou. It forms one of the twelve scenes that depict the celebrated Tiger Hill in Suzhou. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is displayed as an example of literati landscape.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a tranquil garden courtyard centered on a modest wooden pavilion. Two figures, one bearing a basket, the other holding a fan, stand on the stone steps that lead up to the structure. Dark‑leafed trees frame the setting, suggesting a secluded spot where daily life and contemplation intersect.
Technique & Style
Shen Zhou employs restrained brushwork, emphasizing simple geometric forms and clean contours. The palette is muted, dominated by grays and browns with subtle accents of pink and green. Light falls across the foliage and architecture, creating a delicate chiaroscuro that conveys depth while maintaining an overall sense of calm understatement.
Context
Shen Zhou was a leading figure of the Wu School, a group of scholar‑artists who valued personal expression over formal realism. This work reflects the literati tradition of integrating poetry, calligraphy, and painting, using a modest garden scene to evoke broader ideas of harmony between humanity and nature.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
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.
Untitled
The Thousand Buddha Hall and the Pagoda of the "Cloudy Cliff" Monastery, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Untitled
Untitled
明 沈周 溪山秋色圖 卷|明 沈周 溪山秋色圖 卷明 楷書溪山秋色圖 引首|Autumn Colors among Streams and Mountains
明 （倣）沈周 怡松圖 卷|Enjoying the Pines
Distant View of Tiger Hill from the Canal Mooring, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
The Enlightened Stone Retreat, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
- Bamboo Pavilion, Tiger Hill, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Tiger-Flight Spring at the Back Gate, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
The Pine Retreat, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
The Sword Spring, Tiger Hill, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Bamboo Pavilion, Tiger Hill, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
The Thousand Acres of Clouds, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
The Five Sages Terrace, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Cloud-Climbing Pavilion, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
The Five Sages Terrace, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
The Thousand Acres of Clouds, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou