Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting. It dates from 1400 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The iconography focuses entirely on the monastic subject, presenting him within a spiritual context typical of the period's devotional art.
Created around 1400 in Japan, this religious painting depicts a solitary male figure identified as a monk. Executed in ink, color, and gold on paper, the work originally formed part of a larger narrative structure, specifically serving as a section of a three-scroll set. The iconography focuses entirely on the monastic subject, presenting him within a spiritual context typical of the period's devotional art.
While the specific identity of the monk remains unrecorded in the available documentation, the use of gold and the format suggest a work intended for contemplative viewing or ritual use within a religious setting.
Technique & Style
This section of scroll from a set of three is executed in ink, color, and gold on paper, a combination characteristic of devotional painting traditions in early fifteenth-century Japan. The use of gold alongside polychrome ink indicates a refined handling of layered pigments and metallic leaf on a paper support, suited to its religious function depicting a monk. The work is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's paintings collection.
The medium and format suggest careful, deliberate brushwork and a stylized figural approach typical of devotional imagery of the period.
History & Provenance
The work was created about 1400 in Japan and is recorded in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's holdings as an anonymous painting on a section of scroll from a set of three, executed in ink, color, and gold on paper. The subject is a man identified as a monk, consistent with the religious genre noted in the museum's records. No further details of commission or original patronage have been documented in the available sources, which provide neither an accession number nor an exhibition history.
Context
The untitled scroll, dating to about 1400 and attributed to an anonymous Japanese painter, exemplifies early Muromachi-period Buddhist art. Executed in ink, color, and gold on paper, the work belongs to a set of three and portrays a monk within a religious context. Its inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection makes it a representative example of Japanese devotional imagery from the period.
Overview
This untitled painting is a segment from a larger narrative, originally part of a three-scroll set. Executed in ink, color, and gold on paper, it depicts three monks in a serene landscape. The artwork's precise origins remain unknown, yet it offers a glimpse into historical Japanese artistic practices and spiritual themes, conveying a sense of quiet contemplation.
Artist & collection
- 住吉物語絵巻 詞書断簡|The Tale of Sumiyoshi
The Dragon Boat Festival
秋夜長物語絵巻断簡|The Final Scene from A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yonaga monogatari)
神於寺縁起絵巻断簡|Scene from The Illustrated Legends of Jin’ōji Temple
Coastal Landscape
Mountains and Rivers in Autumn
狩野常信筆 四愛図 |Four Admirers
鑑貞筆 瀟湘八景中の二景図|Two Views from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers
Ink Landscape （Suiboku sansui zu）
Winter Scene with Plum Trees and Pheasants (Birds Left)
『春雨集』 摺物帖柳々居辰斎画 鎌倉の鶴岡八幡宮に鶴|Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 2: Cranes at Tsurugaoka Hachimangō Shrine in Kamakura
The Tale of Genji
