Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Joseon dynasty painting artist Okamoto Toyohiko. It dates from 1822 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Okamoto Toyohiko's 1822 hanging scroll, Untitled, presents a genre scene centred on the interaction between a bee and a monkey.
Okamoto Toyohiko's 1822 hanging scroll, Untitled, presents a genre scene centred on the interaction between a bee and a monkey. Executed in ink and colour on silk, the work focuses on these two animal figures without a broader narrative landscape or human subjects, reflecting the naturalistic observation common in Edo-period genre painting. While the specific symbolic intent is not detailed in the available records, the pairing of a monkey and a bee constitutes the principal iconographic content of the piece.
Technique & Style
The work is a hanging scroll on silk, employing ink outlines filled with subtle colour washes in a technique typical of early nineteenth-century Japanese painting. The narrow vertical format (height 109.2 cm, width 41.9 cm) frames a genre scene in which a bee and a monkey are rendered with delicate line work and a muted palette, emphasizing playful interaction. The composition balances negative space with the animated figures, reflecting the scroll tradition's attention to narrative detail.
History & Provenance
Untitled was executed in 1822 in Japan as a hanging scroll in ink and colour on silk, a genre scene portraying a bee and a monkey, attributed to the artist Okamoto Toyohiko. It was subsequently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains, with recorded dimensions of 109.2 cm by 41.9 cm. No commission details or earlier ownership are documented.
Overview
Okamoto Toyohiko's Untitled from 1822 is an ink and color painting on silk, presented as a hanging scroll. This work captures a lively genre scene featuring a monkey interacting with a swarm of bees. The artist's subtle brushwork brings the animal subjects to life, suggesting a moment of playful engagement or perhaps a deeper, yet unstated, narrative.
Artist & collection
