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Untitled

Ryūryūkyo Shinsai

1830

ink

paper

From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Romanticism Early 19th Century Fish Shell

Dominant colour

Untitled is a 1830 ink by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, a Romanticism work, depicting Fish, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Ryūryūkyo Shinsai
When & what style?: 1830 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Metropolitan Museum of Art

About this work

This print shows a big red fish with sharp scales and a long tail, resting on a pile of seashells, seaweed, and small rocks. The fish’s mouth is open slightly, and its eyes look bright. Next to it, a smaller fish peeks out from under a shell, and a clam sits open like a tiny cave. The artist used fine lines to show texture in the fish’s scales and the shell’s ridges. The colors are simple but bold—reds, greens, and browns stand out against the light background. Next, look up cross-hatching to see how artists build depth with lines.