Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009731Twelve Views of Tiger Hill
by Shen Zhou 沈周
Also known as: Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suchou; Twelve Views of Tiger Hill 虎丘十二景圖
About the Artwork
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.
Inscriptions
[印] 启南; 石田; 1 colophon and 1 seal of Yao Yuanzhi 姚元之 (1776-1852). The brushwork of this album is aged and powerful. It is so vigorous that it gives you a feeling of the mist and clouds when looking at it. It could not be done by any other than the old master, Shen Zhou. Formerly the album was in the collection of Hu Zhishou's 胡之壽 family. After many changes of hands, it came finally into the possession of Ligeng 笠耕, the Keeper of the Imperial Stable [that is, Binliang 斌良, Manchurian poet-calligrapher, later the Imperial Resident in Lhasa, Tibet, 1784-1847]. Not long ago, when its former owner Zhishou came to visit me and found the album in my study, he sighed in nostalgia and told me that there were originally an inscription and colophons in the album which are now lost. Song Luo 宋犖 [zi 牧仲, 1634-1713] once had a poem by Shen Shitian on the painting of Tiger Hill. [The poem is missing from the album.] It must be a poem written for this album. However, according to Song's own title, the poem was composed after the rhymes and meter of the original poem on the album. Now there is no poem whatsoever in the frontispiece or at the end of the album. Is this what Zhishou meant - that the original colophons and inscriptions are missing? Ligeng, the Keeper of the Imperial Stable, has asked me for a colophon. The album has been left on my desk since last year. How time has passed! On the first day of the jiashen year 甲申 [1824], I returned from the Court Audience. The plum trees in the pots have started to blossom with their first fragrance. How much has this added to my enjoyment of the painting! I therefore write down a few words for your criticism. [signed] the Student of the Grass Leaf Pavilion, Yao Yuanzhi.; 3 seals of Hou Shigong 侯士恭 [late 19th–early 20th century]. (1 each on the colophon, seventh, and eleventh leaves).
Provenance
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] Richard B. Hobart [1885-1963], Cambridge, MA. Owner of four leaves B = 2, E = 5, F = 6, J = 10. ?-1964: (Walter Hochstadter [1914–2007], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1964-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965). The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974). Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981). Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982). Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Shen Zhou (Chinese, 1427–1509)
- Date
- after 1490
- Medium
- Album of twelve leaves; ink or ink and slight color on paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 36.5 x 49.9 cm (14 3/8 x 19 5/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Accession no.
- 1964.371
More by Shen Zhou 沈周 in museum collections
Public collection via the Art Institute of Chicago
AT-00000640
Public collection via the Art Institute of Chicago
AT-00001224
Distant View of Tiger Hill from the Canal Mooring, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Shen Zhou 沈周after 1490 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009552
The Thousand Acres of Clouds, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou
Shen Zhou 沈周after 1490 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009581
Open-access museum record · AT-00009731
Powered by Art Trackers