Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou

When visiting this famous garden in the water town city of Suzhou, Wu Guanzhong used a felt-tipped drawing pen to make this sketch for his studio use. The gracefully curved roofs, bending willow trees, winding paths, and uneven walls produce a rhythmic movement that permeates the composition. As a promoter of creating art from nature, Wu traveled frequently to make life sketches throughout his career. With pencils and pen, Wu made vivid drawings of trees and buildings, and sometimes added subtle ink tonalities and light color touches. Though many traditional Chinese artists were skillful in sketching, few examples remain today. For Wu, these sketches from nature would serve as useful studies for composing his Western-style oil paintings or Chinese-style ink paintings.