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Untitled

Ryūryūkyo Shinsai

1815

ink

paper

From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Romanticism Early 19th Century Animal Fish

Dominant colour

Untitled is a 1815 ink by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, a Romanticism work, depicting Fish, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Ryūryūkyo Shinsai
When & what style?: 1815 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Metropolitan Museum of Art

About this work

This print shows a dead fish lying on its side, its belly cut open to reveal the organs inside. The fish’s skin is dark and textured, while its guts spill out in soft orange and white. A few leaves and a small piece of driftwood sit near its tail, on a pale green background. The artist used fine lines to show the fish’s scales and the texture of its organs. This kind of careful detail was common in Japanese woodblock prints. Next, look up cross-hatching to see how artists build depth with lines.