Untitled
The Met
Artist: Kawanabe Kyōsai 河鍋暁斎(Japanese, 1831–1889)
Date: ca. 1887
Department: Asian Art
Classification: Paintings
Medium: Album leaf; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: 14 1/4 x 10 7/8 in. (36.2 x 27.6 cm)
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
Visual Descriptions
AI GeneratedVisual Summary
Brief Description
A dark bird with a reddish face is tightly coiled by a snake among sparse bamboo
Detailed Description
An ink painting depicts a large bird entangled by a snake. The bird, positioned centrally, faces left with its beak slightly open. Its body is predominantly dark-feathered, with lighter, patterned feathers visible on its chest and back. Long, striped tail feathers fan out to the right, extending beyond the bird's body. Its head and face are a distinct reddish-brown, contrasting with its dark plumage. Visible talons grip the ground below. The snake, with a patterned body suggesting scales, is tightly coiled around the bird's torso. Its head is positioned near the bird's head, with a forked tongue extended. Sparse bamboo stalks with pointed leaves are depicted in dark ink in the upper left, upper right, and lower right portions of the composition. The ground beneath the bird and snake is rendered with light ink washes and short, dark strokes, suggesting grass or earth. The artwork is primarily in black and grey ink washes on a light, off-white paper, framed by a thin gold border. Calligraphy is visible in the upper left corner, with a red square seal directly below it.
Generated by gemini-2.5-flash
