Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting. It dates from 1777 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is a portrait executed in ink and colour on silk, depicting a man and a woman together with a vase and a hand fan.
The work is a portrait executed in ink and colour on silk, depicting a man and a woman together with a vase and a hand fan. Created in China in 1777 by an anonymous artist, the piece presents these elements as its subject matter. As an album leaf in the portrait genre, the painting focuses on the visual representation of these figures and objects, without further elaboration on their interaction or narrative context in the available records.
Technique & Style
The work is an album leaf painted with ink and polychrome pigments on silk, a support typical of Chinese portable paintings. It measures roughly 27 cm in height by 27.3 cm in width, an intimate format. Executed in China in 1777 by an anonymous hand, it combines ink wash with subtle colour to render a portrait that includes a hand fan, a man, a vase, and a woman, balancing delicate line work with muted hues in the conventions of eighteenth-century Chinese portraiture. Condition details are not recorded in the available documentation.
History & Provenance
This untitled album leaf, executed in ink and colour on silk in 1777 in China, portrays a hand fan, a man, a vase, and a woman, and is classified as a portrait by an anonymous artist. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and measures 27 by 27.3 centimetres. The available sources do not provide an accession number, earlier ownership, or exhibition history for the work.
Overview
This untitled painting, rendered in ink and color on an album leaf of silk, depicts a seated couple. A man and a woman are shown holding identical fans, positioned on either side of a small table. On the table, a teapot and teacups suggest a shared moment of domesticity or leisure. The work's medium and format indicate it was likely part of a larger collection of similar pieces.
Artist & collection
