Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an unspecified painting by the Nihonga artist Shibata Zeshin. It dates from 1837 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1837, this untitled work by the Japanese artist Shibata Zeshin is executed on an album leaf using lacquer applied to paper. The composition consists of a single morning‑glory vine that winds across the surface, its foliage and buds rendered in a deep, reflective black.
Subject & Meaning
The piece focuses exclusively on the twisting stem of a morning‑glory, a plant often associated with seasonal change in East Asian art. By isolating the vine against an otherwise empty field, Zeshin draws attention to the plant’s natural elegance and the subtle movement implied by its curl.
Technique & Style
Zeshin combined traditional lacquer—normally reserved for furniture and decorative objects—with ink, then brushed the mixture onto paper. The resulting surface possesses a lacquered sheen that captures light much like wet leaves after rain, giving the work a tactile, almost three‑dimensional quality that was unusual for his contemporaries.
History & Provenance
The work belongs to Zeshin’s early period, when he was experimenting with lacquer as a painting medium. It remains catalogued as an album leaf, a format commonly used for intimate, portable artworks in the Edo period. Its current location is recorded in museum collections specializing in Japanese decorative arts.
Artist & collection
