Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting. It dates from 1749 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is a hanging scroll painted in ink and color on silk, a traditional format and support for Japanese painting of the mid-eighteenth century.
The work is a hanging scroll painted in ink and color on silk, a traditional format and support for Japanese painting of the mid-eighteenth century. The composition depicts a reclining woman in an interior setting with a bed. The handling combines delicate linework with restrained color applied in thin, layered washes that preserve the luminosity of the silk ground.
Beyond these material and compositional facts, the available sources do not document the painting's specific stylistic attributes or its condition.
History & Provenance
The work titled Untitled is an anonymous Japanese hanging scroll painted in ink and color on silk, depicting a bed and a woman. It was created in 1749, as recorded in its catalog entries. The dimensions measure 36.8 cm in height and 49.5 cm in width.
The painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is held, and its provenance is traced to that institutional acquisition; no earlier ownership records are documented.
Context
The work Untitled is a 1749 hanging scroll executed in ink and color on silk, classified as a painting within the nude genre and depicting a woman in bed.
It was created in Japan and is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued as part of the museum's collection of Asian artworks.
As an anonymous piece attributed to an unnamed painter, it illustrates the practice of unsigned production among 18th-century Japanese artists and provides a point of reference for scholarship on anonymity in Edo-period painting.
Overview
This untitled painting, rendered as a hanging scroll, utilizes ink and color on silk. It depicts a woman reclining on a wooden bed, her kimono partially open at the neck. A black cat is positioned at the edge of the bed, observing the scene. The work offers a glimpse into a private moment, characteristic of certain genres of Japanese painting.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a woman shown in a state of repose, her posture and attire suggesting an intimate setting. Her kimono is open around the neck, contributing to the private atmosphere. The presence of the black cat on the bed's edge adds a domestic, yet perhaps enigmatic, element to the composition, inviting contemplation on the nature of the depicted scene.
Artist & collection
