Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Japonisme artist Katsushika Hokusai. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 14.76.60.1–.109
- Credit line
- Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The artwork depicts a single chicken, serving as the primary subject of this genre scene.
The artwork depicts a single chicken, serving as the primary subject of this genre scene. Created by Katsushika Hokusai in 1834, the piece focuses on this animal without additional narrative context or complex symbolic layers described in the available records. As part of an album of ink and color on paper, the work presents a straightforward representation of the bird rather than an allegorical or mythological composition.
Technique & Style
Created in 1834, this work by Katsushika Hokusai is an album leaf executed in ink and color on paper. The piece measures 39.1 cm in height and 27.1 cm in width. As part of a larger album originally comprising one hundred leaves, the artwork functions as a genre scene depicting a chicken.
The application of ink and pigment on the paper support reflects the artist's approach to detailed observational studies within the Japanese painting tradition.
History & Provenance
Untitled, a single leaf from an album of one hundred sheets, was produced by Katsushika Hokusai in 1834 in Japan using ink on paper. The work remained in the artist’s native country until it entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has been catalogued as part of the museum’s holdings. Its creation is documented by an 1834 inception date and by descriptive records that identify the piece as a painting depicting a chicken.
The artwork’s provenance therefore traces from its production in early‑19th‑century Japan to its acquisition and present display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The album is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its recorded dimensions are 39.1 cm in height and 27.1 cm in width, and it was made in Japan in 1834.
No accession number or exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Created in 1834, this work is a single leaf from Katsushika Hokusai's album of one hundred and nine sketches, executed in ink and color on paper. The composition depicts a solitary chicken standing on one leg within a sparse patch of grass, rendered with the artist's characteristic economy of line. Hokusai employs loose, rapid brushstrokes to suggest the texture of feathers and the play of light and shadow, capturing the bird's alert posture and vitality.
This piece exemplifies the artist's mastery of the surimono and sketchbook traditions during the Kasei period, where he frequently explored natural subjects with a focus on movement and immediate observation rather than formal finish. While the album as a whole serves as a collection of quick studies, this specific drawing highlights Hokusai's ability to imbue a common domestic animal with a sense of life and presence through minimal means. The work reflects the broader ukiyo-e interest in everyday scenes and the artist's enduring exploration of nature throughout his long career.
Context
This drawing belongs to an album of rapid sketches, indicating Hokusai's practice of direct observation and his interest in capturing the natural world with immediacy. Such studies were fundamental to his artistic process, allowing him to explore form and movement without the constraints of formal composition. The album serves as a testament to his continuous engagement with diverse subjects, including numerous animal depictions.
Artist & collection
Artist
Katsushika Hokusai spent his life in Edo, now Tokyo, where he drew and carved prints for a living.
