An Illustrated Marriage of Apparitions

Description

The matchmaking, engagement, wedding, and birth of the first child of two apparitions, or bakemono, literally "things that change," are illustrated in this whimsical, humorous handscroll. Japanese folklore abounds with such strange creatures, most famously represented in handscrolls featuring a procession of 100 supernatural monsters. Aside from a textual preface and cartouches indicating the content of the scenes, the tale is told visually. The artist and whereabouts of the original handscroll are unknown, but a number of other 19th-century copies by amateur painters exist in Japanese collections, attesting to its broad appeal.

Provenance

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An Illustrated Marriage of Apparitions

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mid-1800s

Accession Number

1987.194

Medium

handscroll; ink and color on paper

Dimensions

Overall: 29.2 cm (11 1/2 in.); Painting only: 25.9 x 1310.6 cm (10 3/16 x 516 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund