The Dog and the Crocodile

The Dog and the Crocodile — Antonio Frasconi. 1950.

Medium: pencil. Dimensions: Sheet: 30.5 x 22.7 cm (12 x 8 15/16 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

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.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.