Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Nihonga artist Ōtagaki Rengetsu. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created in 1834, this hanging scroll presents a solitary fox perched on a rock, its tail wrapped around its paws.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The use of silver further accentuates the fox’s form, lending an ethereal quality that contrasts with the muted tones of the setting.
The hanging scroll depicts a fox in a sparse, mountainous landscape, rendered in ink, color, and silver on paper. Rengetsu’s composition isolates the animal against a minimal background, emphasizing the creature’s presence through delicate linework and subtle tonal variation. The fox’s alert posture and attentive gaze suggest vigilance or watchfulness, aligning with symbolic associations of foxes in Japanese culture as guardians or tricksters.
The use of silver further accentuates the fox’s form, lending an ethereal quality that contrasts with the muted tones of the setting. Such imagery may evoke themes of transience or the interplay between the mundane and the numinous, consistent with Rengetsu’s Buddhist-inflected practice and poetic sensibility.
Technique & Style
The work is a hanging scroll executed in ink, color, and silver on paper. Classified as a painting, it takes the form of a landscape composition depicting a fox. The scroll measures 97.2 cm in height by 30.2 cm in width, a tall and narrow format consistent with traditional hanging-scroll conventions.
Its medium combines monochromatic ink with applied color and silver, suggesting layered handling of pigment and metallic accents on the paper support.
History & Provenance
Untitled is a 1834 hanging scroll by Ōtagaki Rengetsu, executed in ink, color, and silver on paper in Japan. The work belongs to the landscape genre and is classified as a painting, depicting a fox. Its dimensions are 97.2 cm in height and 30.2 cm in width.
The scroll entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is housed in the museum’s Japanese art department. It was created during Rengetsu’s early period, reflecting the artistic conventions of the Edo era.
The hanging scroll titled Untitled by Ōtagaki Rengetsu is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Created in 1834, the work measures 97.2 cm in height and 30.2 cm in width. While the piece is documented as part of the museum's holdings, the provided records do not specify a unique inventory or accession number for this entry.
Furthermore, no specific exhibition history or loan records for this particular scroll are included in the available source material.
Overview
Created in 1834, this hanging scroll presents a solitary fox perched on a rock, its tail wrapped around its paws. The composition is accompanied by a brief Japanese poem rendered in delicate ink, while subtle silver pigment scattered across the paper catches ambient light, evoking a quiet, nocturnal atmosphere.
Artist & collection
