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 fish rendered in ink and subtle colour on silk.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a still-life subject, the fish functions as a conventional motif within the artist's naturalistic repertoire.
Untitled is an 1887 ink and color on silk painting by Kawanabe Kyōsai. The work belongs to the still-life genre and depicts a single fish rendered in delicate brushwork. Its composition emphasizes the fluid motion of the aquatic creature against a muted background.
The painting measures 35.9 cm by 27.3 cm and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As a still-life subject, the fish functions as a conventional motif within the artist's naturalistic repertoire.
Technique & Style
Created in 1887, this work is an album leaf executed with ink and color on a silk support. The painting measures 35.9 cm in height and 27.3 cm in width. Stylistically, the composition functions as a still life, featuring a fish as its sole depicted subject.
The application of pigment on the delicate silk surface demonstrates the artist's command of traditional Japanese painting materials within the album format.
History & Provenance
The work Untitled by Kawanabe Kyōsai was created in 1887 in Japan as an album-leaf painting in ink and color on silk. It measures 35.9 cm by 27.3 cm and depicts a fish. The piece entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Its provenance is traced through the museum's acquisition records, indicating ownership by the institution from the time of its acquisition.
Overview
Created circa 1887, this small album leaf by Kawanabe Kyōsai presents a solitary fish rendered in ink and subtle colour on silk. The composition occupies a minimal space, the creature positioned against an unadorned background, its scales suggested by swift, dappled brushstrokes. The work exemplifies Kyōsai’s late‑period output, bridging traditional Japanese painting with a freer, sketch‑like approach.
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".
