Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Baroque artist Kano Tsunenobu. It dates from 1674 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The bird appears within a landscape context, aligning with the painting’s genre classification as a landscape work.
The work presents a bird as its primary visual motif. According to cataloguing records, the subject is identified as a bird, and this identification is corroborated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s documentation of the piece. The bird appears within a landscape context, aligning with the painting’s genre classification as a landscape work.
The bird is rendered in ink and color on paper, consistent with the work’s classification as a hanging scroll. No further symbolic interpretation or thematic meaning is explicitly stated in the available sources.
Technique & Style
Created in 1674, this work is a hanging scroll executed in ink and color on paper. It functions as one panel within a triptych of landscape paintings. The composition depicts a bird within its setting.
The physical dimensions of the scroll are 89.5 cm in height and 28.9 cm in width. The piece originates from Japan and is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Kano Tsunenobu's Untitled painting was created in 1674 in Japan. The work is one panel of a triptych of hanging scrolls executed in ink and color on paper. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued as accession number 60.86.1.
The documented ownership chain begins with its inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's holdings, but no earlier provenance, commission details, or prior ownership history is recorded in the available sources.
The painting is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued under accession number 60.86.1. It forms part of a triptych of hanging scrolls executed in ink and color on paper, with this panel measuring 89.5 cm in height and 28.9 cm in width. No exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Created in 1674, this hanging scroll is one of a three‑panel set by Kano Tsunenobu, a leading artist of the Kano school. Rendered in ink and subtle colour on paper, the work presents two birds perched upon a twisted branch that winds across the composition, suggesting a continuity with the adjacent panels.
Context
The work belongs to a tradition of Japanese bird paintings that flourished during the Edo period, where artists often depicted solitary avian subjects to convey serenity. Kano Tsunenobu’s approach aligns with contemporaries who blended Chinese literati influences with native aesthetics, situating the piece within a broader cultural dialogue on nature and brush technique.
Artist & collection
