Mountains Along Riverbanks 1600 - 1633

"Mountains Along Riverbanks" is a Chinese ink and color painting on silk by Zhang Ruitu (1570-1641), dated between 1600 and 1633. The artwork features a landscape scene with mountains, riverbanks, and trees rendered in a delicate and refined style characteristic of the Ming dynasty. This hanging scroll, currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, showcases Ruitu's masterful command of brushwork, creating a serene and atmospheric depiction of nature. The piece exemplifies the "shanshui" (mountain-water) genre of Chinese landscape painting, with its focus on capturing the essence of nature's beauty.