Shen Zhou

(1427-1509)

A native of Wu county,Jingsu province.His style name was Qi Nan and his sobriquet was Shi Tian.He was born in a aristo-cratic family,but he had no interesting to be an official and was absorbed in painting and poem.First studying painting under Du Qiong,he was talented in painting landscapes and human figures.His landscapes paintings followed the style of Dong Yuan and Ju Ran.His paintings were called as "Wide Shen" or "Slender Shen" due to his meticulous or free strokes.His flower-and-bird paintings created the new style of freehand drawing in the Ming Dynasty.He was the leader of the "Wu Men"school literati and was honored as the Four Great Masters in the Ming Dynasty with Wen Zhenming,Tang Yin and Qiu Ying.