In this long handscroll, Shen Zhou explored four Yuan painters' brush idioms-those of Ni Zan (1306–1374), Huang Gongwang (1269–1354), Wang Meng (ca. 1308–1385), and Wu Zhen (1280–1354). Beginning with the familiar Ni Zan image of sparse trees, barren rocks, and an empty pavilion, Shen Zhou developed Ni's angular "folded-belt" texture strokes into a longer texture pattern that signaled the style of Huang Gongwang and an expansive change of mood. Then, with his brush tip turned inward to form round, dense, curling, and stippled texture strokes, Shen created rock forms that contained the controlled energy of those by Wang Meng. Finally, using simple round brushstrokes to represent rolling shores and blunt and stocky trees, he evoked the serene and melancholy mood of Wu Zhen.
By practicing the different brush idioms of the Yuan masters, Shen was able to treat the theme of autumn mountains with a wide range of expressive moods and interpretations.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
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Artwork Details
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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
Title:Autumn Colors among Streams and Mountains
Artist:Shen Zhou (Chinese, 1427–1509)
Period:Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Date:ca. 1490–1500
Culture:China
Medium:Handscroll; ink on paper
Dimensions:Image: 8 1/8 in. x 21 ft. 1/4 in. (20.6 x 640.7 cm) Overall with mounting: 10 1/4 in. x 36 ft. 4 1/4 in. (26 x 1108.1 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1979
Accession Number:1979.75.1
Inscription: Artist's inscriptions and signatures
(Frontispiece with 4 large characters in semi-cursive script and 1 column in standard script):
Autumn Colors among Streams and Mountains Shen Zhou inscribed.
溪山秋色 沈周題。
(13 columns in semi-cursive script)
It is more than one hundred years since Ni Zan observed the world. What remains are only a few trees that look old and spare. What is left for this old fellow to continue Are the long ranges piled up with level wastes in between. This scroll follows the ideas of Ni Zan. Ni's brushwork is spare, mine is cluttered. Yet though he was sparing, his meaning was ample. That part is what is called the unlearnable.
Wang Yirong 王懿榮（1845–1900） Liansheng shending 蓮生審定
Mu Si 穆思（Earl Morse, 1908–1988） Mu Si shoucang mingji 穆思收藏名跡
Marking: Seals of the three colophon writers, plus six other collectors:
1. Shen Zhou: Zhushiting (Wang& Contag, p. 167 no. 7), before title: Shen Qinan, before title; Shitian (Wang& Contag, p. 168, no. 22), after signature to title: Shen, on joins; Sheshi Qinan, after inscription.
2. Yao Shou: Gongshou, before his inscription; Yüntong Yishi and Jiahe Yaoshi, after inscription.
3. Wang Yirong （1845–1900）: Liansheng shending, after Yao Shou's inscription.
4. Tao Geng: Tao Geng zhiyin, after his colophon.
5. Yamamoto Teijirô (1870–1937): Zi Yüezhi Yüanting shuwu jiancang zhenji, Shijia and Guiyü Qian on title sheet; Qian and Leishan zhenshang on painting; Qian shuhua, after Yao Shou's inscription; Erfeng qingshang, on label and wrapper; Shanben shi Xiangxüe shuwu bingchenhou zhiyin, on wrapper; Guan zi zhenji shi jüe weizhe shen koxiao ye, on wrapper.
6. Mounter's seal: Wu Wenyü zhuang, at end of scroll.
7. Luo Zhenyü (1866–1940): Luo Zhenyü yin and Luo Shuyen; both after his colophon.
8. Sun Yüwen (act. ca. 1856): Wen (Wang& Contag, p. 560, no. 3) and Banchan sansu (Wang& Contag, p. 560, no. 7) after Yao Shou's inscription.
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse , New York (by 1969–76; sold to Dillon);; Douglas Dillon American, New York (until 1979; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Paintings of the 15th–18th Century from the Collection of Earl Morse," November 19, 1970–January 4, 1971.
Ann Arbor. University of Michigan Museum of Art. "The Art of Wen Zhengming, 1470–1559," January 25, 1976–February 29, 1976.
New York. Asia House Gallery. "The Art of Wen Zhengming, 1470–1559," April 7, 1976–June 7, 1976.
New Haven. Yale University Art Gallery. "Traces of the Brush: Studies in Chinese Calligraphy," April 6, 1977–June 27, 1977.
University Art Museum, University of California at Berkeley. "Traces of the Brush: Studies in Chinese Calligraphy," September 20, 1977–November 27, 1977.
Princeton University Art Museum. "Images of the Mind: Selections from the Edward L. Elliot Family and John B. Elliott Collections of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting at the Art Museum, Princeton University," April 15–June 17, 1984.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Images of the Mind: Selections from the Edward L. Elliot Family and John B. Elliott Collections of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting at the Art Museum, Princeton University," September 18, 1987–January 10, 1988.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Millennium of Chinese Painting: Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," September 8, 2001–January 13, 2002.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Douglas Dillon Legacy: Chinese Painting for the Metropolitan Museum," March 12–August 8, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Four Seasons," January 28–August 13, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Brush and Ink: The Chinese Art of Writing," September 2, 2006–January 21, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Landscapes Clear and Radiant: The Art of Wang Hui (1632–1717)," September 9, 2008–January 4, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Arts of the Ming Dynasty: China's Age of Brilliance," January 23–September 13, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Yuan Revolution: Art and Dynastic Change," August 21, 2010–January 9, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the Metropolitan Collection (Rotation Two)," May 7–October 11, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Companions in Solitude: Reclusion and Communion in Chinese Art," July 31, 2021–August 14, 2022.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Learning to Paint in Premodern China," February 18, 2023–January 7, 2024.
Morris, Edwin T. The Gardens of China: History, Art and Meanings. New York: Scribner, 1983, p. 11.
Fong, Wen C. et al. Images of the Mind: Selections from the Edward L. Elliott Family and John B. Elliott Collections of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting at the Art Museum, Princeton University. Exh. cat. Princeton, N.J.: Art Museum, Princeton University in association with Princeton University Press, 1984, p. 145, fig. 131a.
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