image of four dragons with swirling, flame like clouds and lightning set against black background

%C2%A9 Minol Araki%2C licensed by David Frank and Kazukuni Sugiyama

Flying Dragons Roam the Heavens, 1989

expand_more
Not on Viewexpand_more

In this, the fourth of Araki’s five monumental, multi-panel works, he drew upon a rich tradition of dragon painting in East Asia to depict four scaly serpents roaming a sky of swirling clouds. The dragon is a mythological beast with Chinese origins introduced to Japan in ancient times, but the artistic impact of one dragon painting in particular is without equal in the history of Japanese art—an example in Kyoto created by Muqi (c. 1210–c. 1269), a Chinese Zen priest and painter whose paintings were brought to Japan in the 1300s and inspired countless later Japanese versions. Muqi-style dragons in clouds were frequently painted on the ceilings of Buddhist lecture halls, where they were believed to serve as guardians of Buddhist teachings, or were paired with tigers on large-scale folding screens and suites of sliding door panels. With their long snake-like bodies, claw-like feet, spiny dorsal fins, horns, bushy brows and beards, and long whiskers, Araki’s dragons clearly inherit this artistic tradition.

Details
Title
Flying Dragons Roam the Heavens
Artist Life
1928 - 2010
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2013.29.1056a-l
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.

image of four dragons with swirling, flame like clouds and lightning set against black background

© Minol Araki, licensed by David Frank and Kazukuni Sugiyama