Poster - Tiger and Magpie

What do we see in this poster - Tiger and Magpie?

This wall painting "Tiger and Magpie" printed on a poster by the Korean artist Misun Kim is an extremely rare classic Asian artwork nowadays. Although the wall painting was created in 2014, the style and motif merge it with a long-gone era of art. We first see the tiger, which is given a lot of space in the artwork due to its imposing size. The color of the fur and the camouflage stripes make it blend with the background. Only the bright yellow-red eyes and the tongue stand out, letting us imagine the roar of the animal. Behind the tiger, a tree winds upward, on which two magpies sit and look down at the tiger. Finally, we see an intensely red sun standing in the sky, partially veiled by clouds. Almost invisible, we see a thin blue-green line running through the picture. We imagine that it is the shore of a lake in Korea, at a time when our civilization, if at all, was still in its infancy and there was no human influence, because nowadays we can no longer find such a motif in the real world.

Tiger and Magpie at the exhibition

Where can this poster hang?

A poster of the artwork "Tiger and Magpie" brings the unique painting style of our artist Misun Kim to your home. A poster of this wall painting is guaranteed to be an eye-catcher in almost any place. The ARTLIA online art gallery would also like to point out that this extraordinary artwork is also available as an original exclusively here with us. The original artwork is absolutely unique and could soon be part of your collection or become a fantastic gift.

Image resolution quality 

Source

• Original title: Tiger and Magpie (까치와 호랑이)
• Artist: Misun Kim (South Korea)
• Date: 2014
• Format: painted on traditional Korean paper
• Size: 53 x 34cm
• Genre: Korean folk painting (Minhwa, 민화)

Personality traits of the tiger in the zodiac

Tigers are majestic, fearsome, and wild creatures. They are also stealthy and determined hunters. The personality of the tiger reflects all these traits. People born under this zodiac sign are characterized by courage and leadership qualities. They like to do things their own way, and when they set a goal, they will do everything to achieve it. However, their incredible zest for life also has some downsides. Tigers tend to be impulsive, rebellious, and quick-tempered. When the tiger has a tantrum, this anger can affect innocent bystanders. Tiger years can therefore be very explosive times.

Tiger and Magpie, Joy and Luck

In Korean folk painting, tiger motifs, especially tiger and magpie, are very popular. This is because they show strong Korean characteristics.

In the depiction of Tiger and Magpie, the magpie is a symbol of good news, and the tiger is a symbol of a protector who guards against evil. Sometimes a leopard appears instead of a tiger. The Chinese pronunciation of tiger - bao (豹) is the same as luck - bao (報), which means to inform. Magpie means joy, so drawing a magpie-tiger means conveying joy and luck (報喜).

Tiger and Magpie, David and Goliath

However, the folk painting of Tiger and Magpie was not limited to the symbol of luck and protector. Satire was added to the original symbol, criticizing social absurdity. In this image of the tiger and the magpie, a tiger that should be feared is drawn comically, and a small magpie appears with verve. The tiger is far from being the king of animals. There are many types of tigers, such as the blunt and ridiculous "Baboho-Tiger", a tiger with a sharp head, a cat-like tiger, a smoking tiger, a castrated tiger, and a tiger looking out for a magpie.

The tiger here symbolizes an official who abuses his power to commit tyranny, and the magpie stands for the powerless citizens. The criticism of society, especially dissatisfaction with the poor treatment by the ruling class, is expressed allegorically and humorously in folk painting.

These paintings express the feeling of equality of the common people who want to downgrade an authoritarian being to an ordinary person like themselves. In fact, the magpie becomes increasingly proud and even opposes the tiger or ignores its existence. When the tiger attacks, the magpie flies away. Seen this way, the true protagonist in the folk tale Magpie-Tiger is not the tiger but a magpie. It is a paradox found only in Korean folk painting that a magpie plays the role of the master in a tiger image.

Interestingly, a painting depicting the battle between the boy David and the giant commander Goliath was also popular in the West during the Renaissance as a symbol of the Protestants' fight against Catholic authority. This painting by Tiger and Magpie could therefore be a Korean version of David and Goliath.

Poster - Tiger and Magpie

With this framed poster - Tiger and Magpie you make a striking statement in any room. Printed on high-quality, thick, matte paper.

• Paper weight: 189 g/m²
• 0.26 mm (10.3 mil) thick
• Black and white frame made of semi-hard alder wood
• Frame made of solid oak wood
• Front protective film made of Acrylit
• Includes hanging hardware
• 21 × 30 cm posters are size A4
• Raw product components in the USA from Japan and the USA
• Raw product components in the EU from Japan and Latvia

How to attach the hooks to horizontal frames of 61 × 91 cm:
Place each of the mounting hooks 2.5 cm away from the frame corners when hanging the poster horizontally.