Landscape in the style of Wang Meng 《仿王蒙山水圖》

Object Details

• Artist

  Shen Zhou 沈周 (1427-1509)

• Label

  During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), garden building was in ascendance, and the painter Shen Zhou often created works showing himself and his contemporaries in garden settings. Here he has revived an earlier style of painting associated with Wang Meng (ca. 1308-1385), whose wiry brushwork is featured in this scroll. In reaction to the political tensions of his era, Wang Meng often painted rustic mountain gardens that were symbols of a safe retreat for scholars from from the center of government.

  Shen Zhou lived in a more politically stable era than Wang Meng. Urban gardens had become common, but Shen enjoyed the romantic notion of a secluded garden dwelling. Although the tall mountains behind the garden in this painting suggest a natural landscape, the garden owner consciously shaped his property. The large, pierced boulder from Lake Tai that stands like a sculpture beside the foreground open-air kiosk was no doubt imported into the garden at great expense.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Seasons: Chinese Landscapes (December 18, 2010 to June 12, 2011)

  Chinese Gardens in Painters Imagination (February 1, 1997 to January 4, 1998)

  Chinese Gardens in the Painter's Imagination (January 13, 1997 to January 5, 1998)

  Ming Dynasty Calligraphy and Painting (February 8, 1985 to August 26, 1985)

  Chinese Painting: Che and Wu Schools (Mainstreams of Landscape Painting in the Ming Dynasty) (October 15, 1982 to March 17, 1983)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Name

  Shen, Zhou

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Mountains, Bridges, Landscapes, Art, Scholar, Waterfalls, Chinese Art, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Rivers, Spring

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings