Mar 30, 2009
Mar 30, 2009
Mar 30, 2009

Dragon and Tiger

Dragon and Tiger

龍虎図屏風

c. 1546–56

Part of a set. See all set records

Sesson Shūkei 雪村周継

(Japanese, c. 1492–c. 1577)

One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink on paper

Painting: 157.3 x 339 cm (61 15/16 x 133 7/16 in.); Framed: 172.3 x 354 cm (67 13/16 x 139 3/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1959.136.2

Location

Did you know?

Although the theme of this painting derives from Chinese philosophy and pictorial culture, Sesson's tiger is likely modeled after Korean prototypes of the Joseon period circulating in Japan.

Description

In Chinese cosmology, the tiger's roar is said to produce wind. In Chinese paintings, the tiger is often shown with a dragon, who creates rain clouds. Together, they represent the balancing forces of the universe. Chinese presentations of the theme, often in hanging scroll format, provided the basic composition for the pair of screens to which this one belongs.

See also

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