Dragon
early to mid-1600s
Medium
six-panel folding screen; ink, slight color, gold, and silver on paper
Dimensions
image: 158.1 × 304.8 cm · including mounting: 173.4 × 377.2 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1985.134.1
Tags
About this artwork
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).