Untitled

Untitled is a lacquer-on-paper album leaf painted by Shibata Zeshin in 1837 in Japan. The work measures 11.4 cm in height and 8.9 cm in width and portrays a fire and a fox within an allegorical composition. It was created as part of Zeshin’s exploration of traditional Japanese subjects using lacquer techniques.

The piece entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view; the museum’s records list the work’s inception as 1837‑01‑01 and identify Shibata Zeshin as its creator. No earlier ownership records or commission details are documented in the available sources.

The work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it is recorded as an album leaf in lacquer on paper by Shibata Zeshin dated 1837.

Its current accession number is 2015.446.1, assigned upon entry to the museum’s holdings.

The painting Untitled (1837) by Shibata Zeshin is an allegorical lacquer work on paper that depicts fire and a fox. Its subject matter aligns with the allegorical genre prevalent in mid‑19th‑century Japanese painting, using symbolic natural elements to convey narrative meaning. The work is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection, having been acquired from Japan, and measures 11.4 cm in height by 8.9 cm in width.

Its creation in Japan and inclusion in a Western museum illustrate the transnational movement of Japanese lacquer art during the Meiji era.

Created in 1837 by Shibata Zeshin, this untitled album leaf is an allegorical work executed in lacquer on paper. The composition depicts two foxes seated beneath a tree at night, illuminated by the glow of a small fire. Zeshin employs a distinctive technique by applying lacquer, traditionally reserved for hard objects like boxes and furniture, onto a paper support.

This material choice allows the artist to render the fire's light with a unique, wet luminosity that contrasts with the dark surroundings and the texture of the animals' fur. The work exemplifies Zeshin's innovative approach to the lacquer medium during the Edo period, demonstrating his ability to adapt a craft material for painterly expression. By treating lacquer as a pigment on paper rather than a finish for wood, Zeshin bridges the gap between decorative arts and painting.

This piece highlights his early experimentation with the medium that would later define his career, establishing him as a master who expanded the boundaries of Japanese lacquerware beyond functional objects into the realm of fine art.