Artwork
元 佚名 龍虎圖 軸|Tiger
元 佚名 龍虎圖 軸|Tiger is an ink painting. It dates from 1334 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This hanging scroll, executed in ink on silk, presents a solitary tiger perched on a craggy ledge.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
While the genre is classified broadly as landscape, the visual focus remains entirely on the tiger itself.
The work depicts a tiger, identified in the source records as the primary subject of this hanging scroll. Created in 1334, the painting presents the animal as a standalone figure within the composition. While the genre is classified broadly as landscape, the visual focus remains entirely on the tiger itself.
The sources do not provide specific details regarding the iconographic symbolism, mythological context, or deeper representational meaning associated with the animal in this specific instance beyond its identification as the depicted subject.
Technique & Style
The work titled Tiger is executed as a hanging scroll using ink on silk, a format typical of Song-era landscape painting. The unidentified master employed a swift, calligraphic brush to render the animal’s musculature and striated fur, creating a sense of movement through contrasting ink washes and bold, tapered strokes. The scroll’s vertical format emphasizes the tiger’s upward thrust, while the restrained palette of black ink on muted silk surface highlights the creature’s power against a minimal background.
The painting’s composition balances negative space with the animal’s dynamic pose, reflecting a synthesis of spontaneous expression and formal discipline characteristic of early Chinese monochrome art.
History & Provenance
The work titled Tiger is a hanging scroll painted in ink on silk. It was created in China in 1334, during the Yuan dynasty, by an unidentified artist, traditionally associated with the master Muqi. The scroll measures 80.5 cm in height and 40.3 cm in width.
Its subject is a tiger, rendered in the landscape genre. The painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on display. No specific commission records survive, and the attribution to Muqi remains tentative.
Overview
This hanging scroll, executed in ink on silk, presents a solitary tiger perched on a craggy ledge. The animal is rendered with a compact, coiled posture, its muscles taut and its expression fierce. The composition is stark, the background reduced to the bare silk, emphasizing the creature’s presence through negative space.
Artist & collection
