Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting. It dates from 1639 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1639 by an anonymous Chinese artist, the composition utilizes these specific natural elements to establish its iconographic identity.
The work depicts a landscape scene featuring a crane and a mountain, executed in ink and color on silk. Created in 1639 by an anonymous Chinese artist, the composition utilizes these specific natural elements to establish its iconographic identity. While the text does not explicitly elaborate on deeper symbolic interpretations, the inclusion of the crane and mountain within a landscape genre traditionally suggests themes of longevity and stability often associated with such motifs in Chinese art.
The piece functions as a fan mounted as an album leaf, presenting these figures within a compact, intimate format.
Technique & Style
The work is executed on silk as a fan leaf that folds into an album leaf, using ink outlines and muted polychrome pigments typical of 17th‑century Chinese painting. The support is a rectangular silk panel (≈22 cm × 23.5 cm) mounted on a hinged fan frame, allowing it to be displayed as a portable leaf within a bound album. Brushwork renders a sparse mountain backdrop and a solitary crane, employing delicate line work and subtle gradations of ink wash to suggest atmospheric depth.
The composition follows a balanced, vertical orientation common in Chinese landscape scrolls, while the limited palette and fine detailing reflect the refined aesthetic of the period. No significant damage is noted in the available catalogue records.
History & Provenance
The work was created in 1639 in China as a fan mounted as an album leaf using ink and color on silk. It is attributed to an anonymous painter and falls within the landscape genre, depicting a crane and a mountain. The painting's medium, date, and subject matter are documented in the internal catalog entry, while the Wikidata record confirms its classification as a landscape painting, its dimensions, and its presence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.
The current ownership is recorded as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, indicating its present location and institutional custody.
The work titled Untitled, dated 1639, is a fan-mounted album leaf painted in ink and color on silk, classified as a landscape painting that depicts a crane and a mountain. It is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, recorded under accession number 13.100.120, and is housed in the museum's facilities in New York. The painting was created in China and entered the museum's holdings at an unspecified date.
No exhibition records are included in the available documentation, so its public display history cannot be detailed from the provided sources.
Overview
This untitled painting, rendered in ink and color on silk, was originally a functional fan before being mounted as an album leaf. It presents a tranquil landscape featuring misty mountains, towering pine trees, and two cranes standing beside a stream. The composition evokes a sense of peace and natural harmony, characteristic of traditional East Asian landscape art.
Context
Unlike paintings intended for wall display, this artwork was initially conceived as a hand-held fan, designed for personal enjoyment and utility. Its intimate scale and the contemplative nature of the scene suggest it was created for an individual who valued quiet beauty and the subtle artistry embedded in everyday objects.
Artist & collection
- 南宋 佚名 洞天論道圖 團扇|Conversation in a cave
Untitled
Untitled
明 佚名 舊傳李公麟 蘭亭修禊圖 團扇|Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion
Untitled
Buffalo and Boy in Autumnal Landscape
明/清 佚名（舊傳趙伯駒） 蘭亭圖 軸|Orchid Pavilion or Lanting
南宋 傳夏珪 澤畔疾風圖 團扇|Windswept lakeshore
Untitled
南宋 佚名 舊傳閻次于 風雨維舟圖 團扇|Boats Moored in Wind and Rain
元/明 佚名 舊傳趙雍 倣盛懋 蘇軾後赤壁賦圖 團扇|元/明 佚名 後赤壁賦圖 扇|Illustration of Su Shi's "Second Ode on the Red Cliff"
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