Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Romanticist artist Katsukawa Shunchō. It dates from 1789 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 36.100.69
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows a woman accompanied by a moon, making the female figure and the lunar disc the central iconography. While the sources identify these elements, they do not provide further detail on specific symbolic meanings or intended messages. Consequently, the work's significance rests in its presentation of a woman and a moon together, leaving interpretation open to the viewer.
Technique & Style
The visual handling emphasizes the interplay between the human figure and the celestial motif, defining the piece's stylistic and thematic focus.
Katsukawa Shunchō's 1789 Untitled is executed as a hanging scroll, utilizing ink and color applied to a silk support. The composition belongs to the nude genre and formally depicts a woman alongside the moon. Created in Japan, the work demonstrates the traditional Japanese painting technique of combining monochromatic ink with polychromatic elements on a delicate silk medium, a standard practice for hanging scrolls of this period.
The visual handling emphasizes the interplay between the human figure and the celestial motif, defining the piece's stylistic and thematic focus.
History & Provenance
The work titled Untitled is a hanging scroll executed in ink and color on silk by Katsukawa Shunchō in 1789, produced in Japan. It portrays a moon alongside a woman, fitting the artist's nude genre. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's record, the piece entered the museum's collection, listed with an inception date of 1789.
The work remains in the museum's collection in New York, making it the current owner. No earlier owners or commissioning details are documented in the available sources.
Katsukawa Shunchō's 1789 painting Untitled is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work is classified as a painting and executed as a hanging scroll using ink and color on silk. No further details regarding its specific accession or inventory number are provided, nor is there any record of its exhibition history within the available sources.
Overview
Katsukawa Shunchō's "Untitled," created in 1789, is an ink and color painting on a silk hanging scroll. It portrays a solitary woman on a balcony under a pale moon, her red robe contrasting with the subtle background. The artwork captures a moment of quiet contemplation, characteristic of the era's focus on intimate scenes, inviting the viewer into a private world.
Context
Created in the late 18th century, "Untitled" reflects a common theme in Japanese art of the period: the depiction of women in domestic or contemplative settings. Artists like Shunchō often focused on such quiet, personal moments, providing a glimpse into daily life or idealized beauty. This approach allowed for an exploration of mood and atmosphere, often enhanced by natural elements like moonlight.
Artist & collection
Artist
Katsukawa Shunchō lived in Edo (now Tokyo) during the late 1700s, a time when floating-world prints, colorful scenes of theater, courtesans, and everyday life, were all the rage.
