Untitled

Created in 1887, this work is an album leaf executed with ink and colour on a silk support. The painting measures 36.2 cm in height and 26.7 cm in width. Stylistically, the piece functions as a genre scene, depicting a deer and a monkey within the composition.

The application of pigment on the delicate silk surface reflects the traditional materials used by the artist during this period in Japan.

Untitled is an 1887 ink-and-colour-on-silk album leaf painted by Kawanabe Kyōsai. The work depicts a deer and a monkey and measures 36.2 cm by 26.7 cm. It was produced in Japan and entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains. Its dating is confirmed by both the artist's record and the museum's catalogue entry. No earlier ownership details are recorded beyond its acquisition by the Met.

Kawanabe Kyōsai was a Japanese painter active in the Meiji period, recognised for his animal genre scenes. The work Untitled, created in 1887 in Japan, exemplifies this genre through its depiction of a deer and a monkey rendered in ink and colour on silk as an album leaf. The piece is classified as a painting and is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.

Its subject matter and medium reflect the synthesis of traditional Japanese artistic practices with the decorative sensibilities of the era, situating it within the broader trajectory of Meiji-era painting.

Kawanabe Kyōsai's Untitled, created around 1887, is an album leaf rendered with ink and color on silk. This work depicts a lively genre scene featuring a deer observing two wrestling monkeys. Kyōsai, known for his distinctive approach and command of traditional Japanese painting techniques, worked during a significant period of cultural change in Japan. He is often recognized as a prominent figure in the nihonga style of his era.