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Untitled

Hakusanjin Hokui

1835

ink

paper

From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Romanticism Early 19th Century Animal Bird

Dominant colour

Untitled is a 1835 ink by Hakusanjin Hokui, a Romanticism work, depicting Bird, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Hakusanjin Hokui
When & what style?: 1835 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Metropolitan Museum of Art

About this work

This woodblock print shows a single bird in profile, its feathers detailed with sharp lines. The tail feathers fan out in warm browns and blacks, while the body is mostly gray with a red patch near the beak. The bird’s head is turned slightly, giving a sense of movement—its claws grip the edge of the paper as if perched. The artist used fine lines and shading to create texture, especially in the feathers. The colors are simple but bold, with no background to distract from the bird itself. Look up cross-hatching to see how artists build depth with lines like these.