Finger Paintings of the Earthly Branches and Twelve Astrological Emblems: Dog

This finger painting features two frolicking dogs—one black, the other white. Shown in profile, the white dog was finger-painted with simple outlining contours and delicately applied strokes to delineate the animal’s coat. The black dog required more ink, and the variation in the density of the ink accents various features. Jiang Zhang’s practiced finger-painting technique is shown in the vivid representations of the dogs with their textured coats.