Returning Fishermen

Tang Di

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The paintings of Tang Di, a scholar and official at the Yuan court, range from ink drawings on paper to largescale colored works on silk. A fellow townsman and follower of the scholar-painter Zhao Mengfu (1257–1322), Tang won praise from Emperor Renzong (r. 1312–20) for his part in the decoration of the Yuan imperial palace. Returning Fisherman is a fine example of Tang Di's monumental decorative style. Tang executed the scroll in the conservative brush idiom of the Northern Song masters Li Cheng (919–967) and Guo Xi (ca. 1000–ca. 1090), building forms with the principal motifs of the earlier style, "crab-claw" branches and "billowing-cloud" rocks. Following Zhao Mengfu's example of employing calligraphic techniques in painting, Tang made each brushstroke assertive.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art