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Dragon
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A dragon dives through clouds on this screen, while on the other screen, a tiger looks upon a waterfall as it prowls out of a bamboo grove. Tiger and dragon are traditional symbols of the balancing forces in the world, yin (the feminine aspect) and yang (the masculine aspect). This painting has a signature and seals, identifying it as a work by Soga Nichokuan, a painter thought to be from Sakai (near Osaka), and known primarily for his representations of hawk-eagles ( kumataka ).
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineDragon, early to mid-1600s. Attributed to Soga Nichokuan (Japanese). Six-panel folding screen; ink, slight color, gold, and silver on paper; image: 158.1 x 304.8 cm (62 1/4 x 120 in.); including mounting: 173.4 x 377.2 cm (68 1/4 x 148 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1985.134.1
