section_path: Scholarly achievements/Art criticism
section_name: Art criticism
paragraph_text: Art criticism
  
  As an art critic, Shen criticized the paintings of Li Cheng (919–967) for failing to observe the principle of " seeing the small from the viewpoint of the large " in portraying buildings and the like. He praised the works of Dong Yuan (c. 934–c. 962); he noted that although a close-up view of Dong's work would create the impression that his brush techniques were cursory, seen from afar his landscape paintings would give the impression of grand, resplendent, and realistic scenery. In addition, Shen's writing on Dong's artworks represents the earliest known reference to the Jiangnan style of painting. In his "Song on Painting" and in his Dream Pool Essays, Shen praised the creative artworks of the Tang painter Wang Wei (701–761); Shen noted that Wang was unique in that he "penetrated into the mysterious reason and depth of creative activity," but was criticized by others for not conforming his paintings to reality, such as his painting with a banana tree growing in a snowy, wintry landscape.