Artwork Page for The Dog and the Crocodile

Details / Information for The Dog and the Crocodile

The Dog and the Crocodile

1950

Antonio Frasconi

(American, 1919–2013)
Culture
America
Medium
brush and black ink and wash
Measurements
Sheet: 53.7 x 36.7 cm (21 1/8 x 14 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1952.219
Copyright
© Estate of Antonio Frasconi / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Antonio Frasconi portrays a fable by ancient Roman author Phaedrus about the value of caution when enemies pose as friends: a dog avoids being eaten by a crocodile while drinking from the river in which the creature lives. The preparatory drawings show how Frasconi began by considering the animals, their personalities, and their relationship, while accommodating the rectangular composition of the woodblock on which he would carve his design. In the finished print, Frasconi used the texture of the wood grain to suggest the water’s ripples.
A vertically oriented ink and wash drawing on tan paper depicts a large crocodile positioned above a smaller, silhouetted dog. Rendered with thick black lines, the crocodile faces left with its toothy maw open and rounded scales. Below, the dark dog gazes upward with its snout raised. Thin, undulating lines traverse the background while vertical strokes appear between the figures. The signature "pasconi 50" is in the lower right corner.

The Dog and the Crocodile

1950

Antonio Frasconi

(American, 1919–2013)
America

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