Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) / 1840s
Operating on Guan Yu's Arm
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Operating on Guan Yu's Arm as painting (Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · 1840s).
This is the largest surviving painting by the artist.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk and credits Katsushika Ōi (Japanese, c. 1800-after 1857).
The museum's collection notes: Ukiyo-e artists’ subject matter extended to popular literature. Katsushika Ōi used color to great effect in her gruesome version of an episode from a 14th-century Chinese novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Ōi portrayed the passage in which legendary 3rd-century military leader Guan Yu undergoes a bone scraping to remove poisons received from an arrow wound. In this sensationalist portrayal, Guan Yu’s attendants cower at the sight of his bloody arm while he remains unflinchingly focused on his game. As a woman, Ōi was an outlier in her era, but her talent was allowed to shine due to collaboration with her father, Katsushika Hokusai (1760–18
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtOperating on Guan Yu's ArmOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.