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Dragon and Waves

Asian Art Museum

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International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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Object Details

Artist

Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1798-1861)

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.

Collection

National Museum of Asian Art Collection

Exhibition History

Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection (September 15, 2002 to January 9, 2003)

Credit Line

The Anne van Biema Collection

Date

ca. 1827-31

Period

Edo period

Accession Number

S2004.3.149

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Print

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)

Origin

Japan

Related Online Resources

Google Arts & Culture

See more items in

National Museum of Asian Art

Data Source

National Museum of Asian Art

Topic

dragon
Edo period (1615 - 1868)
Japan
wave
ukiyo-e
Japanese Art
Anne van Biema collection

Metadata Usage

Not determined

Link to Original Record

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye38bdba5ab-55ad-4dd0-a7e1-9c4e298ebfe7

Record ID

fsg_S2004.3.149

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