Tiger Family

late 1800s

Tiger Family, late 1800s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper; image: 170 x 90.4 cm (66 15/16 x 35 9/16 in.); overall: 262.5 x 115.1 cm (103 3/8 x 45 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1997.148 In deep mountains, a tigress, two cubs, and a leopard welcome the early morning sun. This is not merely a playful scene but a well calculated image with symbols of longevity (pine trees), prosperity (tigress and cubs), and good fortune (leopard). Traditionally, on New Year’s Eve, the image of a fearsome-looking tiger was pasted on entrance doors to ward off evil spirits. Conventional Korean tiger paintings often include frolicking magpies, but here, the crimson sun is placed behind a majestic pine. Through the sunrise and the details of the felines’ skin shines the artist’s keen interest in creating a realistic atmosphere. A great number of tigers used to have live in the Korean peninsula. An old Chinese proverb says: “Korean people hunt tigers half of the year, and tigers hunt people other half of the year.”