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This is a drawing of a kneeling figure with a fantastical creature emerging from water. The figure is dressed in a long, flowing garment with distinct, pointed headwear characteristic of a jester's cap. They are kneeling on a sloped ground, interacting with the creature. The creature resembles a mythical sea dragon with a sinuous body and ornate scales, emerging from a body of water that is subtly hinted at with a few undulating lines. The lines are delicate and the shading soft. The background is largely unadorned.
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This is a drawing of a kneeling figure with a fantastical creature emerging from water. The figure is dressed in a long, flowing garment with distinct, pointed headwear characteristic of a jester's cap. They are kneeling on a sloped ground, interacting with the creature. The creature resembles a mythical sea dragon with a sinuous body and ornate scales, emerging from a body of water that is subtly hinted at with a few undulating lines. The lines are delicate and the shading soft. The background is largely unadorned.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

"You Are Tying a Dolphin by the Tail" [fol. 17 recto]

French early 16th Century

Date
c. 1512/1515
Medium
pen and black ink on laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 16.3 x 10.4 cm (6 7/16 x 4 1/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
2006.11.35
Credit line
Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner
Time span
1501 to 1550
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Portfolio and series

Series
Speculum principis (Mirror for Princes)

Subjects and terms

  • French
  • Water
  • animal
  • Man
Provenance

(Sale, London, Sotheby's, 13 July 1937, lot 64); (sale, London, Sotheby's, 15-17 November 1937, lot 546); (sale, London, Maggs Bros., Ltd., catalogue 709, 1941, no. 30); (purchased by William H. Schab Gallery via Paul Graupe); purchased by Ian Woodner, New York, by 1973; by inheritance to his daughters, Andrea and Dian Woodner, New York, 1990.

Watermarks

Briquet 13542 (cut off)

NGA object ID 86049. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.