Woman Painting a Dragon

Woman Painting a Dragon

1832
Artist
Totoya Hokkei, Japanese, 1780-1850
Country
Japan
Object
print
Medium
pigment on paper
Accession Number
1986.185
Credit Line
Funds from the Asian Art Association
Totoya Hokkei (Japanese). Woman Painting a Dragon. 1832. pigment on paper. Funds from the Asian Art Association. 1986.185.
Dimensions
height: 8 1/4 in, 20.955 cm; width: 7 1/4 in, 18.4150 cm; mat height: 11 in, 27.9400 cm; mat width: 14 in, 35.5600 cm
Inscription
Black characters TR and RC; Signature: Hokkei; Faint pencil inscriptions on verso.
Department
Arts of Asia
Collection
Arts of Asia
Woman Painting a Dragon by Toyota Hokkei (1780-1850) Japan about 1832, Edo period Woodblock print, pigment on paper Friends of the Asian Art Association 1986.185 Toyota Hokkei, a student of the well-known ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai, was a fish seller who changed his profession to become a successful designer of privately published woodblock prints (surimono). This print depicts a woman painting a dragon that comes to life, rising from her fan in a trail of clouds, and was probably inspired by legends of early Chinese painters who mastered this astonishing feat. It is likely that this work was commissioned by a poetry club or literary society in 1832, the year of the water dragon.
Known Provenance
At least 1986, Israel Goldman Japanese Prints, London; 1986, DAM collection, museum purchase.

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