Exhibition displays paintings from 600 years ago

Warm Sunshine, a painting by an artist from Suzhou in Jiangsu province. [Photo/namoc.org]

A total of 164 paintings by artists from Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, will go on display at the National Art Museum of China from Nov 28 to Dec 10.

The history of the showpieces spans 600 years, including 71 works that were finished in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). There will be 18 modern works and 75 contemporary ones at the exhibition.

The painters featured are four veteran artists from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644): Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin and Qiu Ying. These four were often known as the "Four Masters from Ming" or "Four Masters from Wumen". Wumen was another name for Suzhou in ancient times.

Most of their works depicted the gardens and landscapes in the Jiangnan area, a region of China south of the Yangtze River.