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Sketch Copy of Natural Disasters, from the Seven Fortunes and Misfortunes
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This unmounted handscroll is a copy of the first of a three-scroll set painted by Maruyama Ōkyo (1733–1795) for Buddhist monk Yujō (1723–1773). It depicts people's unfortunate encounters with forces of nature from wind to beasts. Ōkyo's realistic, contemporary imagery was meant to evoke a sense of recognition and empathy in viewers, shocking them into avoidance of possible punishments.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineSketch Copy of Natural Disasters, from the Seven Fortunes and Misfortunes (七難七福図巻の内 天災巻（模本）), after 1773. Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) to Meiji period (1868–1912). Handscroll; ink and color on paper; 34 x 1714.5 cm (13 3/8 x 675 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1993.132
