Object Details
- Artist
- Tang Yin 唐寅 (1470-1524)
- Label
- A brilliant youth, Tang Yin achieved first place in the provincial examinations that he hoped would open a career for him as an official, but scandal ruined his chances. He instead became a professional painter who received commissions from his scholar friends. This handscroll was requested by Tang's contemporary Wang Dongyuan, who followed Daoist practices meant to encourage longevity. After a prophetic dream in which Wang Dongyuan saw an immortal approaching him, Wang named his garden "Dreaming of an Immortal." It was common in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) for a garden proprietor to take the name of his garden, or a site within it, as a sobriquet, or secondary name. Thus, the painting is a "double image" that refers to Wang Dongyuan as a sleeping figure and, by extension, through the garden property itself. Tang Yin creatively captured the meaning of the garden's name by portraying Wang asleep with the dreamy emanation of an immortal floating in the sky.
- Provenance
- To 1939
- Tonying and Company
- From 1939
- Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Tonying and Company in 1939
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Painting with Words: Gentlemen Artists of the Ming Dynasty (April 16 to July 24, 2016)
- Chinese Gardens in the Painter's Imagination (January 13, 1997 to January 5, 1998)
- Chinese Art (May 9 to November 29, 1993)
- On Becoming Immortal (May 9, 1993 to August 15, 1994)
- Masterpieces of Chinese Painting (I) (August 3, 1984 to February 7, 1985)
- Chinese Painting: Che and Wu Schools (Mainstreams of Landscape Painting in the Ming Dynasty) (October 15, 1982 to March 17, 1983)
- Chinese Calligraphy (May 9, 1980 to November 14, 1980)
- Chinese Calligraphy (April 18, 1977 to September 13, 1977)
- Chinese Figure Painting (September 17, 1973 to January 3, 1975)
- Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
- Chinese Paintings (June 5, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
- Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 1947 (January 7, 1947 to April 11, 1955)
- Chinese Panels and Han Pottery (February 25, 1925 to July 19, 1943)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- early 16th century
- Period
- Ming dynasty
- Accession Number
- F1939.60
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Ink and color on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (image): 28.3 × 103 cm (11 1/8 × 40 9/16 in)
- Origin
- China
- Related Online Resources
- Google Arts & Culture
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- landscape
- Daoism
- Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
- sleeping
- Daoist Immortals
- dreaming
- China
- Chinese Art
- Record ID
- fsg_F1939.60
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye356768f1a-1b41-4d9a-8fbd-b725ec34ffe8
