Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Impressionist artist Seki Shūkō. It dates from 1891 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts a fish, executed as a still life on an album leaf. Created by Seki Shūkō in 1891, the painting uses ink and color on silk to render the aquatic subject. As a still life, the composition focuses on the natural form of the fish without additional narrative context or symbolic elements described in the available records.
Technique & Style
The application of colored pigments alongside ink on the delicate silk surface characterizes the technical approach of this Japanese artwork.
Created in 1891 by Seki Shūkō, this work is an album leaf executed in ink and color on a silk support. The piece measures 36.2 cm in height and 26.7 cm in width. Stylistically, the painting functions as a still life, with the composition focused entirely on the depiction of fish.
The application of colored pigments alongside ink on the delicate silk surface characterizes the technical approach of this Japanese artwork.
History & Provenance
The ink-and-color silk album leaf titled Untitled by Seki Shūkō was created in Japan in 1891. Depicting a fish, it is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is catalogued under accession number 14.76.61.82 and displayed among the museum's Asian art holdings. The leaf measures 36.2 cm in height and 26.7 cm in width.
No details of the original commission or intermediate ownership are recorded, and the documentation does not mention any exhibition history beyond its presence in the permanent collection.
Overview
Created around 1891, this small album leaf by Seki Shūkō presents a solitary fish rendered on pale silk. The work belongs to the still‑life genre and is executed with ink and subtle colour washes, measuring only a few centimeters in size.
Context
During the late Meiji era, Japanese artists increasingly encountered Western artistic ideas while retaining native techniques. This work reflects that transitional moment, combining a conventional Japanese subject, fish, with a minimalist, almost impressionistic treatment that hints at broader aesthetic influences.
Artist & collection
