Gazing at a Waterfall
Medium
Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on gold-flecked paper
Dimensions
20 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (52.7 x 24.8 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
China · Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1982
Accession Number
1982.7.2
Tags
About this artwork
This elegant painting depicts a scholar gazing contemplatively at a waterfall cascading through a mountainous landscape, embodying the literati ideal of communion with nature. The composition presents towering peaks, flowing water, and vegetation rendered in ink and color on gold-flecked paper, creating a luxurious surface that catches light. A small figure, dwarfed by the imposing landscape, stands in contemplation, representing the scholar's humble position within the natural world and the pur...
About the Artist
Tang Yin · 1470–1524
Talented painter whose career as an official painter was ruined by an examination scandal in 1499. Around 1500 he began to study painting with Zhou chen. He was ultimately considered one of the Four Masters of the Ming, along with Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming and Qiu Ying.