Shen zhou biography samples

Shen Zhou (Chinese: 沈周; pinyin: Shěn Zhōu, Shen Tsung, Pinyin Shen Zhou, also called Shen Shih-t'ien, 1427 - 1509) was a Chinese painter of the Ming dynasty. He and his student, Wen Cheng-Ming (1470–1559), were the two most important painters of the Wu school, a group of leading gentlemen-artists who lived in the region around Wu-Hsien.

Their work was considered superior to that produced by the professional artists of the Che school, which was patronized by the Ming court.

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Two other outstanding artists from this group, known as the Four Great Masters in the Ming Dynasty, were Ch'iu Ying and T'ang Yin.

Shen was born into a stable and prosperous family and never felt the need to pursue an official career.

Withdrawn from worldly pursuits, Shen Zhou developed a distinctive style through careful study of the works of the great Yuan dynasty masters. He possessed a large collection of paintings from the late Yuan and early Ming, which he and his scholar-painter colleagues