Chen Rong's "Nine Dragons"
Chen Rong’s magnificent composition teems with vitality. Over the more than thirty‑ foot-long painting, the master artist depicts nine dragons, creatures closely associated with water, dynamically juxtaposed against the natural elements. Their twisting, writhing bodies, depicted at various angles, emerge from and then disappear behind rocky cliffs, mists, clouds, and water. Viewers can easily lose themselves in the unfolding drama of crashing waves and the swirling vortex. Chen Rong skillfully uses dry brush strokes to define rocky outcrops and inky washes to create negative white spaces that indicate dense, swirling clouds and mist.
To better enjoy this artwork, MFA Prints carefully selected nine sections of this masterpiece to highlight the individual dragons. Views 1 through 9 show the dragons from right to left, as traditionally read from the original hand scroll. Each section is available in all four standard sizes and our regular framing options.