Tai Chin (1388-1462)

Original: Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, 137.5 x 63.1 cm.

Four travelers are shown crossing a high, rickety bridge beneath a lofty mountain peak. The artist's brushwork is loose and unrestrained yet conveys subtle spatiality within the landscape; the application of colors further augments the beauty of the autumn scene. The painting is one of the finest examples of his work extant.

Tai Chin was a native of Ch'ien-t'ang, Chekiang. His style name was Wen-chin; his sobriquets were Ching-an and Yu-ch'uan-shan-jen. As a young man, he studied with another artist, Yeh Ch'eng. Later, Tai Chin was especially influenced by two Southern Sung artists, MaYuan and Hsia Kuei.