Returning home through the snow 1445 - 1465

"Returning Home through the Snow" is a hanging scroll painting by Dai Jin, a leading artist of the early Ming dynasty in China. Painted between 1445 and 1465, the work depicts a lone figure walking through a snow-covered landscape, a popular subject in Chinese art that speaks to themes of tranquility and solitude. Executed with delicate brushstrokes and muted tones, the painting showcases Dai Jin's mastery of the "literati style" of painting, characterized by its emphasis on subtle detail and a sense of poetic restraint. The work, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a celebrated example of Dai Jin's artistry, representing a pivotal moment in the development of landscape painting in China.