After a T’ang Painting of a CourtesanT’ang Yin (1470-1523)Ming Dynasty The subject of this work derives from the story of the courtesan Li Tuan-tuan seeking a lyric from the poet Chang Yü. Li Tuan-tuan is shown holding a white peony blossom and standing by a screen. Chang Yü sits on a day-bed and concentrates, as if composing the line that made Li famous; “…a peony blossom who walks along.” The line and image here thus seem to match flawlessly. The brushwork of the figures and screen here is very refined, appearing unrestrained only in the trees and rocks of the background and the inscription in the upper right. Similar to Sound of Pines on a Mountain Path (1516), this work may have been done at around the same time or a little earlier, when T’ang Yin was 46.
After a T’ang Painting of a CourtesanT’ang Yin (1470-1523)Ming Dynasty T’ang Yin, style name Po-hu, was a native of Soochow Kiangsu. He studied painting under Chou Ch’en but eventually surpassed him in skill and fame. T’ang Yin was also noted for his poetry and calligraphy, and he is counted as one of the Four Masters of the Ming dynasty. Two noted T’ang poets, Ts’ui Ya and Chang Yu, wrote poems about the boudoirs of the demimonde. Customers flocked to the establishments they praised, while the houses they criticized were deserted. A certain courtesan by the name of Li Tuan-tuan entreated for and obtained a poem by one of them, in which she was lauded: “Yangchow was recently startled to see a white peony that could walk.” Thereafter she became much sought after. This painting depicts the episode of Li Tuan-tuan making her request to one of the poets.