Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a watercolor painting. It dates from 1725 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
A man on a white horse charges a wild boar, the ink lines crisp against creamy paper. Made in western India around 1725 by an unknown hand. Layered washes of watercolor, a technique called glazing, make the horse's muscles glow and give the boar's fur its thickness.
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1725, the piece illustrates the dynamic interaction between the rider, the animal, and the hunted game.
The work depicts a hunting scene centered on a man engaged in equestrianism with a horse. The composition features a Sus scrofa, commonly known as a wild boar, as the primary quarry. Created in 1725, the piece illustrates the dynamic interaction between the rider, the animal, and the hunted game.
While the artist remains anonymous, the iconography clearly represents the themes of the hunt and horsemanship. The visual narrative captures a specific moment of pursuit, emphasizing the relationship between the human figure, the mounted rider, and the boar within the context of 18th-century painting.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in ink with opaque watercolor on a paper support, a combination that yields fine linear outlines filled with muted pigment washes. The medium suggests a delicate handling typical of 18th‑century illustration, where the paper is left largely unprimed, allowing the ink to define form while the watercolor adds subtle tonal depth. The depiction of a Sus scrofa in an equestrian hunting scene is rendered with restrained brushstroke, emphasizing the animal’s musculature and the rider’s motion through contrasting dark and light areas.
The composition is balanced by a shallow spatial depth, and the overall style reflects a precise, almost documentary realism characteristic of early European animal studies.
History & Provenance
The work is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it carries the accession number 2019.299. Its dimensions are recorded as 31.1 cm in height and 45.2 cm in width. The painting has not been listed in available exhibition records, and no documented exhibition history has been published.
Overview
Created in western India circa 1725, this untitled work depicts a dramatic hunt scene featuring a rider on a white horse charging a wild boar. Executed in ink and opaque watercolor on paper, the composition relies on sharp, dynamic ink outlines that contrast with the creamy ground. The artist employs a glazing technique, applying translucent layers of watercolor to model the horse's musculature and render the boar's coarse fur with textural depth.
Although the specific patron and artist remain unidentified, the piece exemplifies the regional painting traditions of early 18th-century western India, where courtly hunting motifs were frequently adapted to local aesthetic sensibilities. The work captures a moment of intense action, balancing the fluidity of the watercolor washes with the precision of the ink drawing to convey the energy of the chase.
Artist & collection
