I did this tattoo for Matt a while back and i am just now getting around to posting it, i think i may have a bit more work to do but i figured its about time i got it up. Matt and i had so much fun putting this tattoo on and it was lots of fun to work with the vinegar tasters painting.
“The Vinegar Tasters (uncommon names: 三酸圖, three sours; 嘗醋翁, vinegar tasting old-men; 嘗醋圖, 尝醋图), is a traditional subject in Chinese religious painting. The allegoricalcomposition depicts the three founders of China’s major religious and philosophical traditions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The theme in the painting has been interpreted as favoring Taoism and critical of the others.
The three men are dipping their fingers in a vat of vinegar and tasting it; one man reacts with a sour expression, one reacts with a bitter expression, and one reacts with a sweet expression. The three men are Confucius, Buddha, and Laozi, respectively. Each man’s expression represents the predominant attitude of his religion: Confucianism saw life as sour, in need of rules to correct the degeneration of people; Buddhism saw life as bitter, dominated by pain and suffering; and Taoism saw life as fundamentally good in its natural state.”
Matt and I decided to add the dragon I feel like it worked well with the image. Once again i have been blessed with another great client. Thanks for bringing me such an interesting project Matt.
by matt