Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink painting by the Impressionist artist Watanabe Seitei. It dates from 1887 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 14.76.61.80
- Credit line
- Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Executed by Watanabe Seitei in 1887 in ink and color on silk, it renders this aquatic motif in an intimate album-leaf format.
The work is an album leaf depicting fish as its central subject. Executed by Watanabe Seitei in 1887 in ink and color on silk, it renders this aquatic motif in an intimate album-leaf format. Its focus on a creature of the natural world aligns with the long-standing Japanese interest in birds, flowers, and animals (kachō-e); beyond the depiction of the fish itself, no specific symbolic program is recorded in the available sources.
Technique & Style
Untitled is a single-leaf album painting on silk, combining ink drawing with subtle color washes. It measures approximately 35.2 cm in height by 26.4 cm in width and was produced in Japan in 1887. The work depicts fish and is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is catalogued as a painting by Watanabe Shōtei (also known as Watanabe Seitei).
Its execution on a silk support and the combined use of ink and polychrome pigments give the image the delicate, translucent quality typical of late-19th-century Japanese album paintings.
History & Provenance
This album leaf was created by Watanabe Seitei in 1887. Executed in ink and color on silk, it depicts fish and originates from Japan. The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and measures 35.2 cm in height by 26.4 cm in width.
Overview
Created around 1887, this untitled work by Watanabe Seitei presents a solitary carp swimming in dark water. The composition is minimal, with the fish occupying the central space and the surrounding surface rendered in faint ink ripples that suggest depth without detailed background.
Artist & collection
