Clouds over the River before Rain 溪雲欲雨圖
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), dated 1504
Medium
Handscroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
34.8 × 810.3 cm (13 3/4 × 319 in.)
Classification
handscroll
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13455
Art Historical Context
Shen Zhou (1427–1509), one of the most celebrated painters of the Ming dynasty, created this expansive handscroll in 1504 during the later years of his career. A leading figure of the Wu school of literati painting, Shen often drew inspiration from nature and earlier Song Yuan masters while infusing his work with personal feeling. The title *Clouds over the River before Rain* evokes the quiet tension of an approaching storm, a theme long cherished in Chinese landscape painting for its suggestion of nature’s changing moods and the scholar’s contemplative response to them. Executed in ink and l...
About the Artist
Shen Zhou · 1427–1509
Chinese, 1427–1509