diff --git a/include/matjson3.hpp b/include/matjson3.hpp
index 5702ae7..f2d251e 100644
--- a/include/matjson3.hpp
+++ b/include/matjson3.hpp
@@ -107,6 +107,11 @@ namespace matjson {
         Value(Value&&);
         ~Value();
 
+        /// Create an empty JSON object
+        static Value object();
+        /// Create an empty JSON array
+        static Value array();
+
         Value& operator=(Value);
 
         /// Parses JSON from a string
diff --git a/src/value.cpp b/src/value.cpp
index 54e6843..e11f1b3 100644
--- a/src/value.cpp
+++ b/src/value.cpp
@@ -61,6 +61,13 @@ Value::Value(Value&& other) {
 
 Value::~Value() {}
 
+Value Value::object() {
+    return Value(std::make_unique<ValueImpl>(Type::Object, Array{}));
+}
+Value Value::array() {
+    return Value(std::make_unique<ValueImpl>(Type::Array, Array{}));
+}
+
 Value& Value::operator=(Value value) {
     if (CHECK_DUMMY_NULL) return *this;
     auto key = m_impl->key();