Dragon and Waves

Maker(s)
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1798-1861)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, ca. 1827-31
Medium
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 37.4 x 25.9 cm (14 3/4 x 10 3/16 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
The Anne van Biema Collection
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S2004.3.149
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Print
Type

Woodblock print

Keywords
Anne van Biema collection, dragon, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, ukiyo-e, wave
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

In East Asia, the dragon is associated with water and rain, and is also one of the twelve animals of the zodiac. As in Kuniyoshi's vivid and innovative prints of warriors and heroes in the late 1820s and 1830s, this image of a dragon emerging from clouds presents large-scale, dynamic figures whose forms and movement defy the lateral boundaries and surface plane of the print. Kuniyoshi's powerful design, with its limited color scheme dominated by black and gray, recalls a long tradition of Japanese ink paintings of dragons that had begun centuries earlier with the introduction of the subject through Chinese ink paintings imported to Japan.

Published References
  • Ann Yonemura, et al. Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection. Seattle and Washington. cat. 105, pp. 264-265.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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