The Sword Spring, Tiger Hill, from Twelve Views of Tiger Hill, Suzhou

An ink landscape in monochrome brush and wash shows three small robed figures walking along a pale path between towering rock walls. At right, a large gnarled tree and a small roofed pavilion sit on a rounded rocky hill, while a pavilion perches high at upper left. The sparse, hushed composition emphasizes the scale of the cliffs over the travelers.

Look closer: A red seal stamp in the lower right corner marks the artwork.

Artist

Shen Zhou

Date

after 1490

Medium

Album leaf; ink on paper or ink and slight color on paper

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Size

3400 × 2556 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund