Dragons In Myth And Legend

The Jabberwocky





















Here is one of many incredible illustrations taken from Lewis Caroll's "Through the Looking-Glass And What Alice Found There" (1871). "The illustrations helped to make John Tenniel famous; less well-known is that the pictures were engraved (in order to print them) onto wood by the Dalziel brothers." See more illustrations from this edition of the book here.

More Dragons






















































































































































































Check out this dragon by Gustaf Tenggren.

Here's a mixed bag of various older unknown dragon artworks I've stumbled across lately. This brings to a close my weeklong post of what has got to be the most prominent monster in all of art history, the dragon.

Dragons In Modern Art

Hayao Miyazaki

The above image is from the animated film Spirited Away.

Shadow of the Colossus

This game was created by Fumito Ueda and his team. If you're not familiar with this game, it is a fantasy set against a large number of giant monsters. Each of them taking some characteristics from various monsters in history, legend and mythology. The take on the dragon is very unique. Click here and here to see concept sketches from the dragon like creatures of the game.

Dave De Leuw



Michael Parkes






















M.C Escher






















Terrance Lindall






















Wayne Barlowe






















Alan Lee

Saint George and the Dragon



Paolo Uccello - St George and the Dragon, oil on canvas 1456


Paolo Uccello - St George and the Dragon, oil on canvas 1458-60


Raphael Sanzio - St George fighting the dragon, oil on wood 1505






















Raphael Sanzio - St George and the dragon, oil on wood 1505-06



Vittore Carpaccio - St George and the Dragon, Tempera on canvas, 1502. View detail of left side here. View detail of right side here.


Vittore Carpaccio - St George and the dragon, Oil on canvas 1516



Leonhard Beck - St George and the Dragon, 1st half of the 16th century.






















Girard Master - St. George and the Dragon, Spanish 15th century oil and tempera on panel.






















Carlo Crivelli - St George Slaying the Dragon, tempera and gold leaf/wood, Italy 1470.





















Carlo Crivelli - St George and the Dragon, scene from the predella panel of the 'Madonna della Rondine' altarpiece, c.1490






















Bernat Martorell - St George Killing the Dragon, Tempera on wood, 1430-35






















Franz Pforr - St George and the Dragon, 1811























Mattia Preti - St George Victorious over the Dragon, oil on canvas, Italian 1678























Cornelius Cort - St. George killing the dragon, Dutch 16th century engraving






















Lucas Cranach the Elder - St. George on Horseback Slaying the Dragon, German 15th - 16th century woodcut.




Enea Vico - St. George killing the dragon, after Giulio Clovio, Italian 1542 Engraving.


Jacopo Bellini - S.Giorgio che uccide il drago, Italian print from 15th century.


Bernardino Lanino - St George and the Dragon, black chalk, pen, bistre wash, and heightened with white lead on ochre-green prepared paper. Image found thanks to Peacay Chez.






















C.R - Image caption reads, "Sancti Georgii: liberet nos Deus a dolore capitis et ab omni malo."


A theatrical production, Covent Garden, London 1864, Artist unkown.





















The above Woodcut shows the scene of Cadmus and the dragon. "A Phoenician prince who killed a dragon and sowed its teeth, from which sprang up an army of men who fought one another until only five survived. With these five men Cadmus founded the city of Thebes." I can only assume that this was a direct inspiration for the imagery of St. George and the Dragon.



Another illustration of Cadmus and the Dragon, artist unknown. Click here to view more imagery taken from the Ovid: Metamorphoses.

View more imagery of Saint George Vs The Dragon here.

And even more paintings and other medium of Saint George battling the dragon can be found here.


Sketches attributed to Leonardo da Vinci for a composition of Saint George and the Dragon. Black chalk and light touches of pen and brownish ink. Image found thanks to Peacay Chez.























Arnold Böcklin - Angelika wird von einem Drachen bewacht, 1873

European Dragons Pt 2


Johann Jakob - Drage from "Oresiphoites Helveticus, 1723.


Above is an engraving by Michel Nicolas Micheux.


The above is an interpretation of a Chinese dragon by the artist Athansius Kircher from 1667.






















The above print is by Jacob Grimm from 1912.

And another print by Jacob Grimm from 1912.






















One more work by Jacob Grimm, print dated 1912.


A cropping from an engraving by the Italian Bernardo Daddi titled "Apollo Killing The Python, from the series The Story of Apollo and Daphne." 16th century


The above drawing was made by Leonardo da Vinci.






















Albrecht Dürer - The Apocalyptic Woman, St John Devouring the Book, eleventh plate from the series The Apocalypse, 1498 woodcut.

Here is text concerning this interpretation of the dragon...

"THE constellation Draco, the Great Serpent, was at one time ruler of the night, being formerly at the very centre of the heavens and so large that it was called the Great Dragon. Its body spread over seven signs of the Zodiac, which were called its seven heads. So great a space did it occupy, that, in mystic language, it "drew a third part of the stars from heaven and cast them to the earth." Thuban, in its tail, was formerly the pole-star, or "judge of the earth!' It approached much nearer the true pole than Cynosura, the present pole-star, which is one and a half degrees distant and will never approach nearer than twelve minutes, while Thuban was only ten minutes distant.

At an early day serpents were much respected; they were thought to have more "pneuma" or spirit than any other living thing and were termed "fiery." For this cause high initiates were called "naga," or serpents of wisdom; and a living serpent was always carried in the celebration of the mysteries. During the brilliant eighteenth and nineteenth Egyptian dynasties, Draco was a great god; but when this constellation lost its place in the heavens, and Thuban ceased to be the guiding sidereal Divinity, it shared the fate of all the fallen gods. "The gods of our fathers are our devils," says an Arabic proverb. When Re-Veilings was written, Draco had become a fallen angel representing evil spirituality. By precessional motion the foot of Hercules rests upon its head, and we find it depicted as of the most material color, red." - read more here.

The Great Red Dragon or Satan as described in the Book of Revelations can be seen in the following watercolor paintings created between 1805-1810 by William Blake.






















"The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun"






















"The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun"
View more of the Red Dragon series here.






















And one more dragon related work by Blake, The above engraving is from 1795 and titled Tornado, "added to the third edition of The Botanic Garden by Erasmus Darwin."






















Raphael Sanzio - St Michael and the Dragon, oil on wood 1505. It's interesting to see the influence of Hieronymus Bosch in the work of Raphael, if only he'd made more paintings like this! Here is the religious text the above painting is based upon...

"In the Epistle of Jude of the New Testament in verse 9, Michael disputes with Satan over the body of Moses. In Revelation 12:7-8, "And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven." John describes Satan being thrown out of heaven three and a half years from the end of the age, "a time, times and half a time" Revelation 12:14. Satan being thrown from heaven coincides with the "abomination that causes desolation" as spoken of by the prophet (Daniel 9:27)."























The above is a wood engraving by Gustave Doré, a frontpiece from the book "Les Aventures du Chevalier Jaufre et de la belle Brunissende" dated 1856.


Jacopo Bellini - A warrior fighting a dragon, print from 15th century.


Cadmus and the Serpent, from Book 3 of Ovid's Metamorphses. View more woodcuts and engravings from this book here.
An image of Perseus freeing Andromeda attributed to Moritze Meurer. Image found thanks to Peacay Chez.

Tomorrow will be devoted to the many artworks surrounding the knight and the dragon.

European Dragons Pt 1


Cornelius van Haarlem, Dutch. Inspired by the Ovid Metamorphes. 3, 48-49. 15th century.



Hendrick Goltzius - The companions of Cadmus devoured by a dragon, Dutch 16th - 17th century engraving. Thanks for the reminder of this work, Fufu!


Charles Over - A dragon boat in the Chinese taste, 1758.






















Salvator Rosa - Jason and the Dragon, Italian 1663 - 1664 Etching and drypoint.



Engraving/etching by the Italian artist Agostino Carracci. The image depicts Apollo and the Python, dated 1589.


Domenico Mattioli - St Margaret and the Dragon, Etching from Italy 1695.






















Jean Le Romain) Alaux - Cadmus Combattant Le Dragon, Lithograph from France 18th - 19th century.






















Clement Pierre Marillier - "Vous savez que j'aime beaucoup ce fruit - one from set of 86 engravings, France 18th - 19th century."






















Philippe Thomassin - Woman with a dragon, France 16th - 17th century.






















Hieoronymus Wierix - The Archangel Michael slaying the dragon, engraving from Flanders 16th - 17th century.

Grotesque Beast - Pen, brown ink and brown wash on laid paper - 16th century Italy, artist unknown.

The following etchings are part of a series dated at the 17th century titled "Ovid's Metamorphoses" and were created by the Italian, Antonio Tempesta.
Aesculapius as a Serpent Among the Romans - pl.149 from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Apollo Killing the Serpent Attacking Orpheus' Head - pl.100 from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Medea Destroying Jason's Family Home - pl. 67 from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Medea Conjuring Her Chariot - pl. 63 from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Jason Putting the Dragon to Sleep - pl. 62 from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Ceres Giving Her Chariot to Triptolemus - pl. 52 from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Cadmus' Men Killed by the Serpent - pl. 22 from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Apollo Killing the Python - pl.9 from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Persian Dragons

The third adventure of ROSTAM Miniature by : M.FARSHCHIAN





















"Bahram Gur killing a dragon. A miniature painting from a seventeenth century additon to a sixteenth century manuscript." Illustrated by Muhammad Zaman - Mazamdaran, Northern Iran, 1675.



"Rustam and his horse Rahksh fighting a dragon. Opaque watercolour." - 1640-1660






















"Gushtasp fighting the dragon. A miniature painting from a sixteenth century manuscript of the epic poem of Shahnama." - 1580-1600






















"Gushtasp killing the dragon. A miniature painting from an early seventeenth century manuscript of the epic poem of Shahnama." - Illustrated by Qasim, India 1616.





















Bahram Gur's Combat with the Dragon, from the Shah-nama or Book of Kings - Shiraz, 1370.



Combat between two fabulous Creatures, from the Sarai Albums. Persia, end of the 15th century.

"'Ali attacking the dragon of the Kuh Billaur, watched by Zinhar. A miniature painting from a seventeenth century manuscript of Khavarnama, a poem on the legendary warlike deeds of 'Ali." - Punjab, 1686.






















"'Ali on foot fighting the six headed dragon. A miniature painting from a seventeenth century manuscript of Khavarnama, a poem on the legendary warlike deeds of 'Ali." - Punjab, 1686






















"Mahan in the Wilderness of Ghouls. He rides a winged seven-headed dragon, and is surrounded by demons carrying fire in their hands. Another demon on the horizon grasps him by the shoulder. A miniature painting from a sixteenth century manuscript of the Khamsa ('Five Poems') of Nizami." - Iran 1505






















"Indian Rustem Killing the Dragon, a page from a manuscript of the Shah Namah, 1800. Opaque watercolor and gold on burnished Indian paper."


Firdausi, Shah-name - Isfandiyar killing a dragon


Firdausi, Shah-name - Faridun, dragon coming across his sons























Artist unknown, "Ali and his wife on the way to the battle against the Nadjdjar-stem, on the way he kills a dragen with one hand."























Firdausi, Shah-name - "Poem anthology Navruz s fight against the dragon."























Firdausi, Shah-name - Isfandiyar and the dragon

See more dragons of Persia here.
Read more about the history surrounding Persian dragons here.
And a few more Persian dragons can be found at Spongobongo.com and here.

Japanese Dragons





















The above painting was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.






















The above painting was created by Utagawa Kunisada II from 1860. It shows the Buddha riding on the back of a giant sea dragon.












Above is a depiction of the Yamata no Orochi, a beast described as one of the first dragon like creatures to be found in Japanese mythology.

Nakabayashi Chikuto



















The two works above are hanging scrolls made from ink on silk and are dated from the Japanese Edo period. See details here and here.
Many more Japanese and Chinese ink paintings of dragons can be found here.

Katsushika Hokusai

See more of Housai's dragons here, here and here.






















"Dragon appearing to a lady" Color Woodcut - artist unknown


Dragon in bamboo from The itcho picture album: a selection of playful sketches, 1770.


"A Japanese dragon, also known as ryū or tatsu (竜 or 龍, "dragon") is a legendary creature from Japan. Like other creatures referred to as dragons, the ryū is a large, fantastic, serpent-like being, and is closely related to the Chinese lóng and the Korean yong. Like these it is usually depicted as a wingless, heavily-scaled snake-like creature with small clawed legs and a horned or antlered mammalian head, and is associated with large bodies of water, clouds or the heavens. The ryū in art can generally be distinguished from other East-Asian dragons in that it has only three toes, rather than the lóng's five or the yong's four.

Dragons in later Japanese folklore were often much more benign, perhaps because of a heavy influence from China. They appear in famous tales such as My Lord Bag of Rice, in which a hero must kill a giant centipede which is devouring the children of the dragon king of Lake Biwa. In Urashima Tarō, the title character rescues a turtle which turns out to be the daughter of Ryūjin, the dragon king of the ocean." - quote from here.

See more Japanese dragons here.
A few more examples of Japanese dragons can be found near the bottom of this page dedicated to imaginary creatures from Japan.

Chinese Dragons








































































































































































The above is a cropping from a much larger work titled "5 Dragons" made from ink and light color on paper. Click on the painting here to see a much larger version.

"The dragons are drawn in calligraphic lines that stand out against the background of clouds, rocks and water. Their heads express their power and also betray a certain humour, two attributes of the Dao (‘Way’). In contrast to the old-fashioned depiction of triangular scales on the dragons’ bodies, the background is expressionistic, executed in varied ink tones produced by rubbing the paper with an ink-soaked cloth. Long, sweeping brushstrokes are used to draw the movements of the clouds and water, while short brushstrokes of dry and wet ink conjure the massive rocks." - quote from here.

"Chen Rong was a literary artist in the end of the Southern Song dynasty. He was from Changlo (Fujian) and called himself Suǒ Wēng, or Suǒ Zhāi in another story. He passed government officials’ exams successfully in 1235. He was good at painting dragons with India ink and is said to have been prominent in the Bǎo Diào(宝祐) period from 1253 to 1258. This painting carries the seal of "所斎" at the end of the roll, and is said to be a work by Chen Rong." - quote from here.

Below is a quote concerning the dragon in Chinese culture.

"In China, dragons play a very important part. They show up in literature, arts, songs, poetry, and architecture. Dragons represent wisdom, celestial and terrestrial power, and strength. They live in water. It is also believed that they bring good luck for a farmer’s crops. During the Chinese New Year parades, people believe that the dragons will keep the people safe from evil spirits that would ruin the Chinese New Year.

There are nine major dragons. Tianlong the Celestial dragon, Shanlong the Spiritual dragon, Fucanlong the dragon of hidden treasures, Dilong the underground dragon, Yinlong the winged dragon, Qiulong the horned dragon, Panlong the coiling dragon who inhabits water, Huanglong the yellow dragon, and finally, the Dragon King. There are also two others which are both hornless. Their names are Jiao and Li.

It is said that all the dragons have nine children. The oldest is Bixi which you would find on a giant land turtle structure. The second child is Chwen who looks like a beast and is always found on a roof. The third is Pulau. He looks like a small dragon, likes to roar, and you would find him on bells. The forth is Bi’an. He looks like a tiger and is so powerful that he is found in prisons. The fifth is Taotie. He loves to eat and is found on ancient bronze. The sixth is Gongfu. He likes to be in water and is found on bridges. The seventh is Yaizi and he likes to kill. The eighth is Suanni and he looks like a tiger. The youngest is Jaiotu and he looks like a palm. Those are the nine dragons and the nine dragon sons. Today people believe that the dragons went away from China, but they still use dragons for decorations and in parades." - quote from here.

Check out this giant example of a Chinese Dragon at Wikipedia.
See more Chinese Dragons here.