Man, Woman and Dragon (2023)

Acrylic on Canvas

39" x 39" / 100cm x 100cm

The dragon swerves round the top of the picture in order to ogle the fair damsel lying on the chaise longue in the foreground. The situation does not seem dangerous or frightening however - the dragon does not emit fire nor does he show his teeth and he even tries to smile, and he is also restrained by his trainer who flies alongside him. As a result, the young lady does not seem in the least concerned. The sweeping movement of the dragon is brought to an abrupt end by the strong horizontal barrier presented by the courtesan. She is reminiscent of Velazquez' "Rokeby Venus" (with reversed orientation) waiting for a rendezvous with her lover. She is turned away from the viewer in order to give her full attention to the dragon. The mood is therefore one of sexual anticipation rather than of impending violence, and the dragon’s identity may be more of an embarrassment (in terms of his outsider status and his poor communication skills) than any advantage of physical strength.

Please be advised, a tray frame would add about an inch to the size of the canvas.

Screen colours can vary among computers, so please know that there may be a slight variation in real life. Every effort has been made to represent the artwork most accurately to the original painting.

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