Tail coiled, claws extended, and feet braced, this dragon is a powerful counterpart to the lion opposite. Medieval beasts, whether real or imaginary, were often imbued with symbolic meaning, as they are in animal fables today. It is not always possible, however, to reconstruct their specific intention in a given monument, and such beasts could be for “aesthetic delight,” as one thirteenth-century archbishop commented. The monastery from which this fresco comes was abandoned in 1841.
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Title:Dragon
Date:after 1200
Culture:Spanish
Medium:Fresco, mounted on canvas
Dimensions:Overall: 131 x 132 in. (332.7 x 335.3 cm) (top panel): 83 x 132 in. (210.8 x 335.3 cm) (bottom panel): 48 x 132 in. (121.9 x 335.3 cm)
Classification:Paintings-Fresco
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1931
Accession Number:31.38.2a, b
From a room above the chapter house of the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza, near Hortigüela, Burgos, Spain (sold by the government in the nineteenth century); Private Collection ; [ Sr. Colominas, Barcelona (sold 1931)]
Chappée, Julien. "Chronique – Espagne: Arlanza (province de Borgos)." Revue de l'art chrétien 62 (1912). pp. 380–81.
Cook, Walter W.S. "The Stucco Altar Frontals of Catalonia." Art Studies 2 (1924). p. 47.
Huidobro Serna, Luciano. "El Monasterio de S. Pedro de Arlanza y su primer Compendio historical, inédito (I)." Boletín de la Comisión Provincial de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos de Burgos 2, no. 7 (1924). p. 202.
Gómez-Moreno, Manuel. "Pinturas murales en San Pedro de Arlanza." Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia 86 (1925). pp. 13–16.
Huidobro Serna, Luciano. "El Monasterio de S. Pedro de Arlanza y su primer Compendio historical, inédito (II)." Boletín de la Comisión Provincial de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos de Burgos 6, no. 20 (1927). p. 213.
Kuhn, Charles L. "Notes on Some Spanish Frescoes." Art Studies 6 (1928). pp. 128–30, fig. 10.
"Romanesque Frescoes Discovered in Castile." Art News vol. 27 (January 5, 1929). p. 24.
Cook, Walter W.S. "Romanesque Spanish Mural Painting (I)." The Art Bulletin 11, no. 4 (December 1929). p. 339.
Post, Chandler Rathfon. A History of Spanish Painting: The Romanesque Style. Vol. 1, pt. 2. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1930. pp. 189–93.
Frankfurter, Alfred M. "The Opening of The Cloisters." Art News 36, no. 7 (May 1938). pp. 9–14, 21.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sixty-Ninth Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year 1938." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 69 (1938). p. 24.
Rorimer, James J., and Margaret B. Freeman. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Mediaeval Art, in Fort Tryon Park. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1938. pp. 1–4.
Rorimer, James J. "New Acquisitions for the Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 33, no.5, part 2 (May 1938). p. 8.
"Art Throughout America - Cambridge: a Spanish Wall Painting of the Thirteenth Century." Art News 37, no. 23 (March 4, 1939). p. 16.
Wehle, Harry B. A Catalogue of Paintings: Volume 1, Catalogue of Italian, Spanish and Byzantine Paintings. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1940. pp. 210–11.
Gudiol, José. Spanish Painting. Toledo: Toledo Museum of Art, 1941. p. 2.
Rorimer, James J. Medieval Monuments at The Cloisters: As They Were and As They Are. Revised ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1941. p. 15.
Gómez-Moreno, María Elena. Mil Joyas del Arte Español: Piezas Selectas, Monumentos Magistrales.. Vol. 1. Barcelona: Instituto Gallach de Librería y Ediciones, 1947. p. 160, pl. 357.
Cook, Walter W.S., and José Gudiol Ricart. Pintura e imaginería románicas. Ars Hispaniae, Vol. 6. 1st ed. Madrid: Editorial Plus Ultra S. A., 1950. pp. 127, 173–74.
Anthony, Edgar Waterman. Romanesque Frescoes. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1951. pp. 64, 180–81.
Rorimer, James J. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Mediaeval Art in Fort Tryon Park, New York. 11th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951. pp. 1–3.
Allen, Josephine L., and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1954. p. 92.
Gaya Nuño, Juan Antonio. La Pintura Románica en Castilla. Madrid: Instituto Diego Velázquez, 1954. pp. 21–23, 36, pl. 45.
Spanish Medieval Art: A Loan Exhibition in Honor of Dr. Walter W.S. Cook. New York: Institute of Fine Arts Alumni Association, 1954. no. 61, (unpaginated).
Connoisseur Magazine. "Early Spanish Treasures at the Cloisters." The Connoisseur 136 (September 1955). p. 17.
Gaya Nuño, Juan Antonio. La Pintura Española Fuera de España. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1958. no. 2543, p. 295, pl. I (b) [misidentified in caption as cat. no. 2544 – Fogg Museum griffin].
Randall Jr., Richard H. A Cloisters Bestiary. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1960. p. 26.
Ainaud de Lasarte, Juan. Spanish Frescoes of the Romanesque Period. Mentor-UNESCO Art Book. New York: New American Library, 1962. p. 22.
Ainaud de Lasarte, Juan. Romanesque Painting. Compass History of Art. New York: Viking Press, 1963. p. 28.
Rorimer, James J. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Medieval Art in Fort Tryon Park. 3rd revised ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1963. pp. 21–23, fig. 4.
Gudiol, José. "Romanesque Art." In Encyclopedia of World Art. Vol. 12. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966. col. 432.
Demus, Otto. Romanesque Mural Painting. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1970. pp. 57, 119, 478.
"Books - Medieval Monuments at The Cloisters: As They Were and As They Are." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 30, no. 4 (February 1972-March 1972). pp. 171–73, fig. 8.
Rorimer, James J. Medieval Monuments at The Cloisters: As They Were and As They Are, edited by Katherine Serrell Rorimer. Revised ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. pp. 48–49, fig. 61.
Demus, Otto. "European Wall Painting around 1200." In The Year 1200: A Symposium. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. p. 96.
Young, Bonnie. A Walk Through The Cloisters. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979. p. 11.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. Vol. 1. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. Vol. 2. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. p. 188.
Yarza Luaces, Joaquín. Historia del arte hispánico: Volume 2, La edad media. 2nd ed. Madrid: Alhambra, 1982. p. 172.
Avril, François, Xavier Barral I Altet, and Danielle Gaborit-Chopin. Le Monde Roman, 1060-1220: Volume 2, Les Royaumes d'Occident. L'Univers des formes, Vol. 30. Paris: Gallimard, 1983. p. 251, ill. p. 214.
Sureda, Joan. La Pintura Románica en España: Aragón, Navarra, Castilla-León y Galicia. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1985.
Young, Bonnie. A Walk Through The Cloisters. 5th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988. pp. 10–11.
Moralejo Alvarez, Serafín. "Arlanza, San Pedro de." In Enciclopedia dell'arte medievale. Vol. 2. Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1991. pp. 454.
Benton, Janetta Rebold. The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages. New York: Abbeville Press, 1992. p. 41, fig. 31.
Cahn, Walter. "The Frescoes of San Pedro de Arlanza." In The Cloisters: Studies in Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary, edited by Elizabeth C. Parker. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992. pp. 86–109, fig. 2.
Baetjer, Katharine. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. p. 146.
Vivancos Gómez, Miguel Carlos. Beato de Liebana, Códice de San Andrés de Arroyo: Commentary. Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, 1998. pp. 77–78.
Fernández, Pardo Francisco, ed. Las tablas flamencas en la ruta Jacobea. San Sebastián, Spain: Diócesis de Calahorra y Lacalzada-Logroño, 1999. pp. 201–2.
Wixom, William D., and Margaret Lawson. "Picturing the Apocalypse: Illustrated Leaves from a Medieval Spanish Manuscript." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 59, no. 3 (Winter 2002). p. 6, fig. 2.
Romanesque Art Guide. 4th ed. Barcelona: Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, 2005. p. 166.
Norris, Michael. Medieval Art: A Resource for Educators. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 22, pp. 92–93.
Martínez Ruiz, María José. La Enajenación del Patrimonio en Castilla y León (1900-1936). Vol. 1. Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 2008. pp. 92–106, fig. 13–14.
Pagès i Paretas, Montserrat. "Les pintures de San Pedro de Arlanza i els bestiaris anglesos del 1200." In Contextos 1200 i 1400: Art de Catalunya i art de l’Europa meridional en dos canvis de segle, edited by Rosa Alcoy Pedrós. EMAC-Contextos, Vol. 2. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, 2012. pp. 229–40, fig. 8.
Socias Batet, Immaculada. "Les pintures murals de San Pedro de Arlanza al Museu dels Cloisters de Nova York." In Agents i comerç d'art: Noves fronteres. XI Seminari sobre Història Social del Col·leccionisme / Agentes y comercio de arte: Nuevas fronteras. XI Seminario sobre Historia Social del Coleccionismo (2015), edited by Yolanda Pérez Carrasco. Biblioteconomía y Administración Cultural, Vol. 296. Gijón: Ediciones Trea, 2016. pp. 157–88, fig. 17a–c.
Senra, José Luis. "Y vivía entre las fieras, pero los ángeles le servían. Poder, saber y representación abacial en el monasterio de San Pedro de Arlanza." In En busca del saber: arte y ciencia en el Mediterráneo medieval, edited by Alexandra Uscatescu, and Irene González Hernando. Investigación. Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2018. pp. 333–66, fig. 10c, 12.
Senior Research Associate Christine E. Brennan recalls enjoying the Medieval Festival at The Met Cloisters with her family and invites visitors to join the festivities this Sunday, September 18.
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