Artwork
明 佚名 雲龍圖 軸|Dragon Amid Clouds and Waves
明 佚名 雲龍圖 軸|Dragon Amid Clouds and Waves is an ink painting. It dates from 1499 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work is a hanging scroll painted with ink on silk, depicting a dragon entwined with clouds and waves.
About this work
This painting shows a dragon in the clouds and waves. It's an old work from the 15th or 16th century. The dragon is a big part of Chinese stories and art, and this painting is a good example of that, with the dragon looking strong and powerful, and the artist used simple ink on silk to create it. You can learn more about this kind of art at the museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a dragon winding through clouds and waves, a motif drawn from Chinese mythology that symbolizes celestial power and the dynamic forces of nature. Rendered in ink on silk as a hanging scroll in 1499, the work reflects the spiritual and cosmological themes prevalent in Ming‑dynasty art, using the dragon to evoke authority and the harmonious flow of cosmic energy.
Technique & Style
Created in 1499, this hanging scroll utilizes ink applied directly onto a silk support. The work depicts a dragon, a figure from mythology, rendered through the monochromatic medium of ink. As a painting from China, the piece employs traditional formats and materials characteristic of the period, focusing on the singular mythological subject within the scroll format.
History & Provenance
Dragon Amid Clouds and Waves is an anonymous Ming dynasty hanging scroll painted in ink on silk, dated to 1499.
Dragon Amid Clouds and Waves is an anonymous Ming dynasty hanging scroll painted in ink on silk, dated to 1499. The work originated in China, where it was produced during the late fifteenth century. It subsequently entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently held.
No information is available regarding the original commissioner, the early ownership history, or the chain of custody prior to the painting's acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Legacy
The hanging scroll Dragon Amid Clouds and Waves, painted in 1499 by an anonymous Ming dynasty artist, established a lasting model for mythological compositions that influenced subsequent Chinese court and literati art. Its depiction of a dragon entwined with clouds and waves became a recurrent motif in later scrolls and prints, cited in museum catalogues as shaping the visual language of dragon iconography in East Asian painting. The work's presence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art has reinforced scholarly attention to anonymous Ming masters, cementing its reputation as a benchmark for anonymous yet highly influential artistic production.
Overview
The work is a hanging scroll painted with ink on silk, depicting a dragon entwined with clouds and waves. Executed in the fifteenth or sixteenth century, the piece exemplifies the traditional Chinese format of monochrome brush painting, where the figure of the dragon dominates the composition against a minimalistic atmospheric backdrop.
Artist & collection
