Tang Yin

Tang Yin was a Chinese painter, scholar, and poet in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, during the Ming Dynasty. Tang attempted to rise from the poor merchant class he was born into by pursuing a position in the civil service, but was jailed and disgraced after attempting to cheat the civil service examination. Upon returning home, Tang lived a famously eccentric lifestyle, getting by on commissions and eventually becoming a trickster character in Chinese folklore. Tang’s landscape paintings are more closely derivative of traditional Song Dynasty works than those of his peers, but he maintained a modern, innovative style with loose, quick brushstrokes. His popular paintings of beautiful courtly women embody this recognizable quality, suggesting spontaneity while reflecting practiced traditionalism.