Sheet with overall splotchy pattern 1800 - 1900

This anonymous work from the 19th century is a sheet of paper with a splotchy pattern across the surface. The red-brown splotches appear to be made with a brush or a similar implement, and they are distributed across the sheet in a seemingly random pattern. The work is a fine example of abstract art and may have been a test or experiment, a study, or a scrap piece of material used for other purposes. It is currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.