Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Romanticist artist Utagawa Hiroshige. It dates from 1827 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 08.148.5
- Credit line
- Gift of Francis Lathrop, 1908
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The iconography is restricted to these elemental forces, presenting a direct observation of nature without additional narrative figures or symbolic allegory.
Created in 1827 by Utagawa Hiroshige, this matted painting on silk is a landscape study focused on coastal dynamics. The composition depicts a beach scene dominated by the forceful movement of wind-driven waves. As a landscape, the imagery centers on the natural interaction between shoreline and turbulent water, capturing the atmospheric conditions of a windy day at the sea.
The iconography is restricted to these elemental forces, presenting a direct observation of nature without additional narrative figures or symbolic allegory.
Technique & Style
Untitled (1827) is a landscape painting executed in ink and color on silk and mounted as a matted work. It measures 35.4 cm in height and 54.4 cm in width, a horizontal format, and depicts a beach and a wind-driven wave. The piece is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Created in 1827 by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige, this untitled landscape was executed in ink and color on silk and depicts a beach scene with wind waves. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is cataloged as a painting measuring 35.4 cm in height and 54.4 cm in width. No accession number or public exhibition history for the piece is provided in the available records.
Overview
Utagawa Hiroshige, a prominent ukiyo-e artist known primarily for his landscape prints, created this untitled painting in 1827. Executed with ink and color on silk, the work presents a dramatic nocturnal coastal scene. It features powerful, wind-driven waves crashing against a rocky shore, showcasing Hiroshige's early engagement with natural elements rather than the urban subjects often favored in the ukiyo-e genre.
Artist & collection
Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重) or Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重), born Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
