Daoist Immortal on a Qilin and Two Attendants (late 1800s): Art, History and Details

Daoist Immortal on a Qilin and Two Attendants (late 1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

By the late 18th century, subjects that deal with Daoist immortals and their fantasy stories were increasingly chosen for paintings. For their wish-granting message, Daoist figure paintings such as this one were often commissioned to celebrate festive occasions. Judging from its dimension, this paining used to be part of either a small-size multi-panel folding screen or a large-size album that depicts a series of Daoist immortals and Buddhist deities.

Object facts

• Title: Daoist Immortal on a Qilin and Two Attendants
• Date: late 1800s
• Culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Ink and color on paper
• Dimensions: Painting only: 52.9 x 28.7 cm (20 13/16 x 11 5/16 in.); Overall: 61 x 38 cm (24 x 14 15/16 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1915.220

A detail from the museum

As a fantastical animal hybrid of a griffin and a sphinx, the animal qilin was used as a symbol of heavenly blessings.

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Yi, Hong-joo. “Polychrome Figure Paintings of 17th-18th Joseon Korea [17-18세기 조선의 工筆 彩色人物畵 연구].” Misulsahak yeongu (2010): 5-47.
• Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
• Cho, In-soo. "Taoism and Folk Painting of the Joseon Dynasty [조선시대 도교와 민간회화]."Hanguk minhwa (2016): 6-29.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.