Extemporaneous Scenery

The most striking characteristic of this landscape by Shen Zhou is the expansive space suggested by bushes, riverbanks, and mountain ranges, all conveyed in a small, short scroll. Born in Suzhou (near modern Shanghai), southeastern China, Shen was a prominent figure in the local circle of scholar-artists. Their social interactions and activities had acquainted them with the paintings of old masters from the Song to Yuan dynasties (tenth to fourteenth centuries). The young Shen Zhou initially established himself in the prevailing Song styles.

He quickly gained enough confidence in his brush skills to paint landscapes on small paper or silk. According to the notation he attached to the end of this scroll, Shen thought a small painting required an intense, sensitive, and delicate execution. In contrast, the brushwork in a large composition could be free-handed loosely and spontaneously, which indeed was relatively easier. Shen concluded, when looking at a small piece like this one, that viewers should imagine a scene that was twice as large.