Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This india ink painting from the Hokusai School depicts a tiger, the sole subject identified in both the cataloguing record and the Wikidata entry for the work.
This india ink painting from the Hokusai School depicts a tiger, the sole subject identified in both the cataloguing record and the Wikidata entry for the work. In East Asian artistic tradition, the tiger is a charged symbol rather than a neutral animal portrait: it represents power, ferocity, and protective force, and is commonly paired iconographically with the dragon as one half of the cosmic yin–yang duality, the tiger governing the earthly and the dragon the celestial. Rendered in monochrome ink on paper and dated to 1834, the image belongs to a long lineage of Japanese tiger imagery in which brushwork itself carries meaning, with bold, slashing strokes evoking both the animal's striped pelt and the vital energy thought to inhabit such creatures.
Within that symbolic framework, the work functions less as a naturalistic study than as an emblem of strength and guardianship.
Technique & Style
Created in 1834, this work by the Hokusai School is an unmounted painting executed in India ink on paper. The artist utilized traditional Japanese materials to depict a tiger, a subject rendered through the fluid handling characteristic of ink wash techniques. The support consists of paper, which has been preserved without a mount, allowing direct observation of the medium's interaction with the surface.
Measuring 25.1 cm in height and 34.9 cm in width, the piece reflects the stylistic conventions of Edo-period Japanese painting. The composition relies on the tonal variations of the ink to define the form and texture of the animal, demonstrating the school's mastery of monochromatic expression.
History & Provenance
This unmounted painting, executed in India ink on paper by an artist of the Hokusai School, is dated to 1834. The work depicts a tiger and measures 25.1 by 34.9 cm. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Overview
Created in 1834, this unmounted ink painting on paper belongs to the Hokusai School, a lineage of artists who followed the renowned Japanese master. Though unsigned, the work is identified with that tradition. The composition presents a solitary tiger, rendered in monochrome, occupying the central space of a sparsely suggested landscape.
Artist & collection
