Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting. It dates from 1536 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The hanging scroll depicts a single male figure identified as a bodhisattva, a revered being in Buddhist iconography who embodies compassion and assists in the liberation of sentient beings. The figure’s posture and regalia, likely including a nimbus or mandorla rendered in gold leaf, signal a sacred status, while the use of silk and gold underscores the work’s ritual and devotional function. Painted in 1536 during the Muromachi period, the composition emphasizes the figure’s spiritual authority through refined linework and restrained color, aligning with contemporaneous Japanese Buddhist painting conventions that sought to visualize enlightened beings for veneration.
Technique & Style
Created in 1536, this hanging scroll is executed in ink, color, and gold leaf applied to a silk support. The work originates from Japan and is classified as a religious painting. Measuring 109.9 cm in height and 49.5 cm in width, the piece depicts a Bodhisattva alongside a male figure.
The combination of ink, pigment, and gold leaf on silk creates a formal composition characteristic of its genre.
History & Provenance
No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented.
Created in 1536 in Japan, this hanging scroll depicts a Bodhisattva and a male figure. The work was executed using ink, color, and gold leaf on silk by an anonymous artist. While the specific circumstances of its commission and early ownership history remain undocumented in available records, the painting is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Untitled painting from 1536 is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a hanging scroll executed in ink, color, and gold leaf on silk, it falls within the museum's paintings holdings. No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented.
Overview
This untitled hanging scroll depicts a serene figure, rendered with ink, color, and gold leaf on silk. The artwork, originating from Japan, showcases a robed individual seated on a cloud, with one hand raised in a gesture of blessing and the other holding a jewel. Gold leaf creates a luminous background, emphasizing the figure's calm, almost smiling expression. The silk material shows signs of age and wear.
Artist & collection
- Untitled
Miroku (Maitreya)
弥勒菩薩像|Miroku Bosatsu
雨宝童子図大津絵|Ōtsu-e of Uhō Dōji
The Buddha Preaching the Law
Miroku (Maitreya)
Untitled
Welcoming Descent of Amida (Amida Raigō)
山王本地仏曼荼羅|Mandala of the Sannō Shrine Deities
清 佚名 大勢至菩薩像 軸|Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva
Painted Banner (Thangka) of Bodhisattva Maitreya Surrounded by his Retinue
The Bodhisattvas of the Ten Stages in Attaining the Most Perfect Knowledge
