Design for the songlet Dragon Gorges
- Date:
- c. 1930
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 14.8 × 9.5 cm
- Source:
$1,000–$15,000. Reproductions and common prints: $1,000–$3,000. Key value factors: Yumeji's popular image means many reproductions exist. Original prints are scarcer and more valued.
The design for the songlet "Dragon Gorges" — from around 1930 — features the dragon, that most powerful symbol in East Asian iconography, given Yumeji's distinctive treatment. The dragon in Japanese tradition is associated with water, with imperial power, and with the transformative force of natural phenomena, and Yumeji's engagement with it in the context of a song cover connects the mythological symbol to the emotional world of music and lyric. The gorge setting grounds the dragon in landscape while the music context gives it an additional romantic charge.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Design for the songlet Dragon Gorges was created by Takehisa Yumeji (竹久夢二) in c. 1930.
Design for the songlet Dragon Gorges depicts mythology and animals.
Design for the songlet Dragon Gorges measures 14.8 × 9.5 cm (Oban format).
