Artwork Details
Artist
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
39-3/4 x 17-3/4 in. (image)
Period
Mark Description
Signed: Tan'yusai hitsu Relief gourd seal: [Morinobu]
Accession Number
Credit Line
Gift of Mr Keith Uhl Clary
Copyright
Collection
Asian Art (Japanese and Korean)
Color Palette
Gallery Labels
The white tiger of the west and the azure dragon of the east are two of the ancient Chinese mythical animals of the four cardinal directions (which include the red phoenix of the south and the "xuanwu" -- tortoise entwined by a serpent-of the north). These two paintings are based on a famous pair by the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) artist Muqi (active mid-1200s) housed in the Daitokuji in Kyoto. Flying amid swirling clouds, the dragon symbolizes rain. The glaring tiger is associated with wind.
Song and Yuan dynasty ink painting was brought to Japan primarily by Japanese and Chinese Zen monks during Japan's medieval period. In the 1500s the Kano school emerged as the primary heir of the monochrome ink tradition. Although they also produced Japanese paintings, Chinese subject matter formed an enormous part of the output of the Kano school, and pairs of paintings like these were a staple product of their studios.
More from the Collection
Content Disclaimer and Usage Rights
Metadata about the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection comes from Newfields’ records and research. In some cases, information may be incomplete and research is ongoing. Newfields’ goal is to have as up-to-date metadata as possible, therefore, this information is subject to change. Newfields collections’ metadata is available under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) waiver, which allows for re-use without legal restrictions.
Artworks that appear in the image file(s) above may be in copyright or have other legal and/or cultural restrictions to their use. For clarity, Newfields does not claim copyright to the image files created by Newfields of artworks in the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection. Newfields makes every effort to ascertain the copyright status of artworks in the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection. Please refer to the RightsStatements.org statement above for information about the current copyright status of the artwork. Additionally, some artworks may include Local Context’s Notices or Labels that attribute cultural authority of the artwork’s heritage and data.
Additional information about Newfields’ reproduction guidelines can be found in the Licensing Resources.