Dragon in the Clouds

The dragon stares back at the viewer with a vigorous look from between clouds. Its face was outlined in various shades of ink to create color gradations with the clouds painted with light color ink to represent the air and light. As a renowned painter of the Kano school who led the art community in the 17th century, Kano Tanyu is a grandson of Kano Eitoku—a famous painter in the Momoyama Period—and worked for the Tokugawa Shogunate. The work bears the words “painted by Hoin Tanyu at age 65,” indicating that it was created in 1666.