Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Romanticist artist Sakai Hōitsu. It dates from 1794 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The scene is rendered as a hanging scroll in ink and color on paper, classified as a landscape work from 1794 by Sakai Hōitsu.
The painting shows a youthful figure in the company of oxen within a landscape composition. The scene is rendered as a hanging scroll in ink and color on paper, classified as a landscape work from 1794 by Sakai Hōitsu. The depiction of a boy with oxen functions as the central iconographic element, situating the piece within Edo-period genre conventions that often emphasized rural and agrarian subjects. The work is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains part of the collection.
Technique & Style
Created in 1794 by Sakai Hōitsu, this work is executed as a hanging scroll. The artist utilized ink and color applied on paper as the primary medium and support. Stylistically classified as a landscape painting, the composition formally depicts a boy accompanied by oxen.
The piece originates from Japan and is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Untitled (1794) by Sakai Hōitsu is a hanging scroll executed in ink and color on paper, classified as a landscape painting that depicts a boy with oxen. The Metropolitan Museum of Art lists the work in its collection and records its inception as 1794. No accession number is disclosed in the available documentation, and the museum's catalogue does not note any recorded exhibition of the piece beyond its presence in the permanent collection.
Overview
Untitled is a hanging‑scroll painting on paper by Sakai Hōitsu, dated 1794. Executed in ink and subtle colour, the work presents a quiet rural scene that centers on a boy astride a dark ox moving across a pale field.
Context
Created during the Edo period’s sakoku era, when Japan limited foreign contact, the painting reflects the period’s focus on domestic subjects and the appreciation of quiet, private moments in nature. Landscape scrolls such as this were common formats for personal contemplation.
Legacy
The work is part of a broader Japanese tradition of depicting oxen in agrarian settings, a motif that appears in the oeuvre of several Edo‑period artists. Hōitsu’s subtle handling of light and space continues to inform studies of ink painting techniques.
Artist & collection
