Katsushika Hokusai ( 葛飾北斎,
Katsushika Hokusai? 1760–May 10, 1849 ) was
a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. In his
time he was Japan's leading expert on Chinese painting. Born in Edo (now Tokyo),
Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views
of Mount Fuji (c. 1831) , which includes
the internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created
during the 1820s. Hokusai created the "Thirty-Six Views" both as a
response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with
Mount Fuji. It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fuji in
Clear Weather, that secured Hokusai’s fame both in Japan and overseas. As
historian Richard Lane concludes, "Indeed, if there is one work that made
Hokusai's name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series...".
While Hokusai's work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not
until this series that he gained broad recognition and left a lasting impact on
the art world. It was The Great Wave print that initially received, and
continues to receive, acclaim and popularity in the Western world.
Katsushika Hokusai is thought to have learned art from his
father. He began painting around the age of 6, and by the time he was 12 he was
sent to work in a library and bookshop where many of the middle and upper class
would go to appreciate wood block art and read stories. At the age of 14, he
was taken in as an apprentice to learn the art of wood carving. When he was 18,
he was accepted into the studio of Katsukawa Shunshō to learn the art of wood
block prints.
early career:
From his early beginnings as a student of Katsukawa Shunshō,
Katsushika Hokusai began to master the art of Ukiyo-e, the Japanese art of wood
block prints. These prints commonly depicted famous players in theater and
popular landscapes. It was then he was given a new name, the first of his name
changes of his artistic career. During this time as an apprentice he also
married for the first time. Very little information is known about his first
wife except that she died in the early 1790s.
When Katsukawa Shunshō died in 1793, Katsushika Hokusai
began experimenting with different kinds of art popular in Europe during that
time. This form of art is later what led to his fame, but also got him expelled
from the studio of Katsukawa Shunshō from his chief disciple. The images of his
artwork had changed from that of popular courtesans and actors to daily life of
the Japanese people and common Japanese images and landscapes. His medium
changed to brush paintings instead of wood blocks, and thus beginning the
height of his career, as well as another name change.
height of career:
Over the next decade, Hokusai gained increasing fame both
because of his skill as an artist as well as his knack for self-promotion. It
was said that he created a portrait of a Buddhist monk for a Tokyo festival
which was over 600 feet long using brooms and buckets of ink. He was also
placed in the court of the Shogun Iyenari for a competition with another local
artist at the time where he was said to have won. In the court of the Shogun, he
was able to learn the art of other types of brushstrokes and attract other
students of art to learn his techniques. He was also paired with a writer
during this period to create illustrated books. This form of art in the
illustrated books has evolved into what we know now as the types of caricatures
used in comic books today.
While Hokusai contributed to the art of comic books, he is
most popularly known for his ukiyo-e print series 36 views of Mt. Fuji, originally
released with 36 prints. Ten more were added after original publication. 36
views of Mt. Fuji is actually 46 prints. This publication was followed by 100
views of Mt. Fuji, which is deemed as the masterpiece of his career. His
landscape picture books are deemed masterpieces among many as they turned the
focus of artwork at the time from courtesans and popular actors to landscapes
detailing plants, people, animals, and mountains.
Between 1814 and 1820, 12 collections of books put together
known as manga were considered the precursors to today’s modern manga, the main
inspiration behind comic book drawing. While these works of art were considered
noteworthy in Japan during that era, he didn’t gain notoriety overseas until
long after his death.
hokusai's later life and death:
In 1839, disaster struck as a fire destroyed Hokusai's
studio and much of his work. By this time, his career was beginning to wane as
younger artists such as Andō Hiroshige became increasingly popular. But Hokusai
never stopped painting, and completed Ducks in a Stream at the age of 87.
Constantly seeking to produce better work, he apparently
exclaimed on his deathbed, "If only Heaven will give me just another ten
years... Just another five more years, then I could become a real painter."
He died on May 10, 1849 , and was buried at the Seikyō-ji in Tokyo
Important Works:
- Fukujusô shunga series, ca. 1784
- Hokusai Manga, 15 volumes; published 1814–78, the last volume was published posthumously
- Fugaku sanjūrokkei ("Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji") series of 46 prints, published 1830. This included:
The Great Wave at Kanagawa, ca. 1830 - Shokoku taki meguri ("A journey to the waterfalls of all the provinces") series, published ca. 1831
- Shokoku meikyō kiran ("A journey along the bridges in all the provinces") series, published ca. 1831–32
When he was seventy-five Hokusai wrote, in the preface to
the "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji", the following lines about his
life and his program to the future:
"From the age of five I have had a mania for sketching the forms of things. From about the age of fifty I produced a number of designs, yet of all I drew prior to the age of seventy there is truly nothing of great note. At the age of seventy-two I finally apprehended something of the true quality of birds, animals, insects, fish and of the vital nature of grasses and trees. Therefore, at eighty I shall have made some progress, at ninety I shall have penetrated even further the deeper meaning of things, at one hundred I shall have become truly marvelous, and at one hundred and ten, each dot, each line shall surely possess a life of its own. I only beg that others of sufficiently long life take care to note the truth of my words."
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