Who painted Untitled?

Untitled was painted by Maruyama Ōkyo in 1785.

Where can I see Untitled?

Untitled is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is Untitled?

Untitled is associated with Baroque.

Untitled by Maruyama Ōkyo (1785) · Meaning & Museum

About this work

You see two tall silk scrolls side by side: one shows a carp leaping against a gold sky, the other a branch of peach blossoms.

You see two tall silk scrolls side by side: one shows a carp leaping against a gold sky, the other a branch of peach blossoms.

Ōkyo painted these in 1785, when most Japanese artists still followed Chinese brush rules. He didn’t. He looked at real fish and real flowers, then used tiny ink strokes, like cross-hatching, to give them weight and light.

If you like how he mixed careful detail with quiet gold space, look up the subject “fish.”

Subject & Meaning

The artwork depicts fish and flowers within a landscape framework. As a pair of hanging scrolls by Maruyama Ōkyo, the composition uses ink, gold, and color on silk to render these natural subjects. The iconography centers on the juxtaposition of aquatic life and botanical elements, reflecting a focus on observed nature rather than abstract symbolism, and represents the artist's engagement with the natural world through traditional Japanese painting.

Technique & Style

Created in 1785 by Maruyama Ōkyo, this work consists of a pair of hanging scrolls executed in ink, gold, and color on silk. The composition is a landscape scene depicting fish and flowers. As a painted pair, the format uses the vertical orientation characteristic of hanging scrolls, integrating metallic gold pigment alongside ink and mineral colors on a silk support.

History & Provenance

Maruyama Ōkyo produced this untitled pair of hanging scrolls in 1785, using ink, gold, and color on silk to portray fish and flowers within a landscape framework. The work dates from the artist's late period, when he emphasized decorative effects.

The pair is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, having passed from the artist to the museum's holdings. The museum's records list the inception of the paintings as 1785. No accession number or exhibition history is provided in the available documentation.

Overview

This pair of untitled hanging scrolls, created by Maruyama Ōkyo in 1785, exemplifies his distinctive approach to painting. Rendered in ink, gold, and color on silk, the works depict a leaping carp and a branch of peach blossoms. These paintings showcase Ōkyo's innovative blend of meticulous observation with a refined aesthetic, moving away from conventional artistic practices of his era.

Context

In 1785, when Ōkyo produced these scrolls, many Japanese artists continued to follow established Chinese painting traditions, which often emphasized idealized forms and prescribed brush techniques. Ōkyo, however, forged a new path by integrating realistic depiction with traditional Japanese aesthetics. His innovative method, rooted in empirical study, significantly influenced subsequent generations of artists and contributed to the development of the Maruyama school of painting.

Artist & collection

Artist

Maruyama Ōkyo

Maruyama Ōkyo (円山応挙; Japanese pronunciation: , June 12, 1733 – August 31, 1795), born Maruyama Masataka, was a Japanese artist active in the late 18th century.