Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a tempera painting by the Impressionist artist Shibata Zeshin. It dates from 1879 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is a still-life composition that depicts a flower. Created by Shibata Zeshin in 1879, the piece focuses entirely on this single botanical subject without additional narrative elements or complex iconographic programs. As a fan painting mounted as an album leaf, the artwork presents the flower as the sole point of visual interest, emphasizing its natural form through the medium of tempera on paper.
Technique & Style
Untitled is a fan painting mounted as an album leaf, created by Shibata Zeshin in 1879 using tempera on paper. The work belongs to the still-life genre and depicts a flower. It is housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is preserved as part of the museum's holdings of Japanese art.
History & Provenance
Untitled is an 1879 fan painting mounted as an album leaf by Shibata Zeshin, executed in tempera on paper and depicting a flower. The work was created in Japan in 1879 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The available sources do not specify a unique accession number or any exhibition history for this work.
Context
Its inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection contextualizes it within broader holdings of late Edo and Meiji-period Japanese painting.
Shibata Zeshin's Untitled (1879) exemplifies his engagement with traditional Japanese fan painting formats and the still-life genre. The work's depiction of a solitary flower on a fan-shaped support mounted as an album leaf reflects the Meiji-era practice of adapting decorative formats for collectors. Its inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection contextualizes it within broader holdings of late Edo and Meiji-period Japanese painting.
Overview
Created in 1879, this small tempera work by Shibata Zeshin presents a solitary white camellia rendered on a fan that was intended for personal use rather than wall display. The composition isolates the flower against a dark field, allowing its delicate form to dominate the viewer’s attention.
Artist & collection
