ĭespite his depiction of a traditional motif, Hokusai implemented innovative stylistic techniques that produced a novel interpretation of this subject matter. Fuji, were popular as souvenirs for visitors to Edo. His prints, like many other ukiyo-e and images of Mt. Fuji is an exploration of this visual theme. Naturally, such a significant motif would be a popular subject matter in Japanese art. Beginning in ancient times, the mountain has long been revered as sacred, and it became a popular destination for pilgrimage after the government eased travel restrictions in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. Mount Fuji, which is about sixty miles south of the city of Edo, is generally regarded as one of the most important symbols of Japan. His artistic representations of the mountain were unique in their depiction of nature and Hokusai succeeded tremendously in his effort to implement a novel interpretation of the traditional Mount Fuji motif. The prints in this series exemplify the innovative nature of Hokusai’s landscape ukiyo-e. In 1823, Hokusai began to work on the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. “floating world pictures”) from their traditional subject matter, which included kabuki actors, courtesans, and scenes of everyday life, to include landscape images and meisho-e, or famous “named” places. Hokusai was one of the pioneering artists in the early 19 th century that expanded the subject matter of ukiyo-e (lit. When Hokusai died in 1849, he demonstrated his dedication to his craft on his deathbed, wishing for ten or even five more years to become “a real painter.” Rather, he took inspiration from various sources including both traditional Japanese styles and European and Chinese versions of Western-style painting. Hokusai was somewhat unique in his reluctance to conform to the artistic traditions and conventions of one single school. During his time with Shunshô, Hokusai experimented with a plethora of subject matters producing prints that depicted beautiful women, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, birds and flowers. At the age of about twelve or thirteen, Hokusai apprenticed to a woodblock engraver for about four years, eventually attracting the attention of the master Katsukawa Shunshô who admitted the young artist to his studio as a pupil in 1777. The son of a humble mirror maker, he showed an inclination towards an artistic profession at a very young age. Hokusai, who is known by many different names as he frequently changed his artistic pseudonym, was born with the name Tokitarô in the Katsushika district of Edo in 1760. Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji: The Great Wave of Kanagawa, is significant as an example of Hokusai’s use of innovative techniques to represent a traditional subject matter, a theme which characterized the entire series and is largely responsible for its enduring and pervasive popularity. Hokusai’s prints became popular as souvenirs for visitors to Edo and the pilgrims to the sacred Mount Fuji. He implemented various stylistic elements that convey the motif during different seasons and weather conditions, and during different times of day. In Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Hokusai depicted the traditionally significant Japanese mountain in a ground-breaking way. The series ultimately had a total of forty-six prints (an original thirty-six and ten more which were added later). His most well known series is entitled Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, of which The Great Wave of Kanagawa is widely regarded as the most famous print. Hokusai may have produced as many as 30,000 prints over the course of his lifetime. He was admired both domestically by the Japanese public who consumed his work, and later internationally by European artists who often used his prints as inspiration. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is one of the most well known Japanese artists. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji: The Great Wave of Kanagawa ( Kanagawa oki nami ura )Ģ5.6 cm x 37.6 cm (10 1/16 in.
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