Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Impressionist artist Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎. It dates from 1887 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created circa 1887, this small album leaf by Kawanabe Kyōsai presents a solitary squirrel perched on a slender branch.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition features a single squirrel rendered in delicate brushwork, the animal positioned centrally against a muted background.
Untitled (1887) by Kawanabe Kyōsai is a still‑life painted on silk using ink and gold. The composition features a single squirrel rendered in delicate brushwork, the animal positioned centrally against a muted background. The work is catalogued in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection and is identified as depicting a squirrel, a motif that appears in Japanese painting but without explicit symbolic attribution in the documented sources. The depiction emphasizes naturalistic detail while employing traditional decorative techniques such as gold leaf accents.
Technique & Style
Created in 1887, this album leaf by Kawanabe Kyōsai features a depiction of a squirrel rendered in ink and gold on a silk support. The work measures 36.2 cm in height and 27.3 cm in width. As a painting originating from Japan, the piece utilizes traditional materials to execute its still-life subject matter within the format of a single leaf intended for an album.
History & Provenance
Untitled is an album leaf painting executed in ink and gold on silk in 1887 by Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyōsai. The work portrays a squirrel and was produced in Japan.
The painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view. Its dimensions measure 36.2 cm by 27.3 cm, and it is classified as a painting within the still_life genre, reflecting the tradition of album leaf paintings in the Meiji period.
The album leaf titled Untitled by Kawanabe Kyōsai is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Created in 1887, the work depicts a squirrel rendered in ink and gold on silk. The museum's records list the piece with dimensions of 36.2 cm in height and 27.3 cm in width. No specific accession number or exhibition history is provided in the available sources for this work.
Overview
Created circa 1887, this small album leaf by Kawanabe Kyōsai presents a solitary squirrel perched on a slender branch. Rendered in ink and gold on a dark silk backing, the composition combines delicate brushwork with luminous metallic accents, characteristic of the artist’s late‑Edo to early‑Meiji output.
Context
At the time of its creation, album leaves were popular formats for intimate, portable artworks. Kyōsai, celebrated for his versatility across painting, illustration, and satire, applied his mastery of traditional media to this modest yet technically refined format.
Artist & collection
Artist
Kawanabe Kyōsai (河鍋 暁斎; May 18, 1831 – April 26, 1889) was a Japanese painter and caricaturist. In the words of art historian Timothy Clark, "an individualist and an independent, perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting".
