Dragon Boat Festival
1880
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1880
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Dragon Boat Festival is a 1880 paint by Unknown, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a busy river scene with people in bright robes. On the water, colorful boats race—some shaped like dragons, others flat-bottomed. On the shore, a group stands near a pavilion with curved roofs, while a few more people walk or sit under bare trees. The colors are bold: reds, blues, and greens stand out against a light background. Notice how the artist used quick, loose brushstrokes to show movement in the water and clothes. The boats look lively, almost like they’re splashing through the scene. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more works like this up close.
The painting, rectangular in shape, depicts a scene from the Dragon Boat Festival, with four boats in the foreground, including one shaped like a green dragon and another adorned with green flags. In the background, a large crowd exits a white building, while a bridge with a red structure is visible on the left. Originally part of an album of thirty-five paintings illustrating various processions, it was acquired in 1898 from Parsons & Sons and is now cataloged as D.2-1898.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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