Calling on a Friend in the Snow

The painter Sunzhi, whose birth and death dates are unknown, was born in Suzhou of Jiangsu Province in the Ming Dynasty. He followed the style of another painter Wen Huiming for his own landscape paintings, which are elegant and graceful instead of being philistine. He is also good at painting figures and flowers. This artwork shows a beautiful scene in winter. The well designed layout of the painting makes the landscape look real and full of details. This painting represents the dreamed life of Sunzhi: living in tranquil nature far from the sophisticated cities and visiting his friends while enjoying the snow covered magnificence. The author used fine lines and light colors for the whole painting, which is also influenced by Wen Huiming. The artwork was created in 1595.