Untitled

Untitled (c. 1900) is a hanging scroll painted in ink and color on silk by Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyōsai. The work, classified as a landscape genre depicting a man with a turtle, was created in Japan around 1900. It entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view, having been acquired by the museum as part of its holdings of Kyōsai’s paintings. The scroll’s dimensions measure 98.7 cm in height by 36.2 cm in width.

Kawanabe Kyōsai's Untitled, created in 1888, is a nihonga landscape rendered in ink and color on a silk hanging scroll. This work exemplifies the distinctive approach of Kyōsai, a Japanese painter and caricaturist active during a period of significant change in late 19th-century Japan. Art historian Timothy Clark characterized him as "perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting," highlighting his mastery and unique artistic voice.

Kyōsai created this piece in 1888, a time of significant cultural and political transition in Japan. This particular work followed his arrest for producing art that satirized the government, a testament to his independent spirit. His position as an artist navigating the shift between traditional Japanese painting and the influences of a rapidly modernizing nation is central to understanding his output.