Thatched Cottage in the Western Mountain, collected by the British Museum.
西山草堂图,Tang Yin 唐寅 (1470 – 1524)
Tang Yin was a leading painter of the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644). Due to a scandal in which he was accused of bribery, he failed to become an official and had to earn his living by painting. Tang produced this work for a scholar from Jiangsu province, Ding Qiande, to commemorate his purchase of a new residence. The painting depicts Ding’s new home as an ideal scholar’s cottage nestled in a landscape, visited by an auspicious crane and overlooking a stretch of water. Ding is shown reading inside his cottage with an attendant by his side as he awaits a visitor. This painting was once in the Qing imperial collection and carries an inscription by the Qianlong emperor, who ruled from 1736 to 1795.
— quoted from the British Museum.


