Who painted Untitled?

Untitled was painted by Nagano Yasunosuke in 1898.

Where can I see Untitled?

Untitled is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is Untitled?

Untitled is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

Untitled

Nagano Yasunosuke , 1898

Untitled is an ink painting by the Impressionist artist Nagano Yasunosuke. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The presence of an infant alongside armed figures suggests an iconographic program centered on a martial or legendary episode rather than a devotional portrait.

Classified as a religious painting, the work presents a narrative scene featuring an infant, a man, and a woman set among trees, with a bow and arrow and a sword also depicted. The presence of an infant alongside armed figures suggests an iconographic program centered on a martial or legendary episode rather than a devotional portrait. The inclusion of trees situates the figures within a natural setting, a common compositional device in late nineteenth-century Japanese religious imagery used to frame sacred or mythic encounters.

Executed in ink and color on cryptomeria (sugi) wood in 1898, the painting translates these symbolic attributes into a compact, emblematic tableau.

Technique & Style

Created in 1898, this work is executed in ink and color applied directly onto a support of cryptomeria (sugi) wood, measuring 50.8 centimeters in height and 63.5 centimeters in width. Its formal composition depicts a man holding a bow and arrow alongside a sword, accompanied by an infant, a woman, and a tree. The use of wood as a rigid support distinguishes the handling from works on paper or canvas, while the integration of ink and pigment suggests a traditional approach to Japanese religious imagery.

History & Provenance

Untitled (1898), attributed to Nagano Yasunosuke, is an ink and color painting on cryptomeria (sugi) wood. The work portrays a bow and arrow, infant, man, sword, tree, and woman. It is classified as a religious painting and is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it measures 50.8 cm in height by 63.5 cm in width.

The specific accession number is not listed in the published catalog, and no exhibition history is documented in the sources consulted.

Overview

This untitled work features a family grouping rendered in ink and color on a single plank of cryptomeria wood. It depicts an adult man and woman, dressed in robes and equipped with bows and swords, standing behind two infants. The composition combines painted elements with the natural texture of the wood, creating a distinctive visual effect.

Artist & collection

Artist

Nagano Yasunosuke

Nagano Yasunosuke worked in ink and color on sheets of Japanese cedar in the late 1800s. An untitled panel from 1898 sets delicate blossoms and soft clouds into the pale grain of the wood, quiet and close-up, like a small private garden.