PORTRAIT OF TANG YIN
Anonymus painter
Late Qing Dynasy
19th century
Ink and colour on silk
156 by 115 cm

Calligrapher and poet, well-know to the Chinese, Tang Yin was one of the most important Ming painters (15th c.) His paintings depict chiefly landscapes. His landscapes reflect Taoist philosophy, which considers human beings as small and insignificant, and only Nature as worthy of veneration. Since the Chinese believe that Heaven and Earth coexist in harmony, mountains (yang) are in perfect balance with water (yin) and, being quite high, they are closer to the sky, and thus to the Immortals’ abode.