Hokusai —Worldly Acclaimed Ukiyo-e Artist

Hokusai Katsushika 《富嶽三十六景 神奈川沖浪裏》

The Takamatsu Art Museum will be holding the special exhibition Hokusai—Worldly Acclaimed Ukiyo-e Artist: The Master & His Disciples, from Hokusai to Henri Rivière.
Ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai, who was active during the Edo period, is still quite popular not only in Japan, but around the world. With 30 name changes and 93 moves over the course of his 90-year lifetime full of ups and downs, always chased by debt, he left behind a vast number of artworks. His original style, consisting of bold compositions and dexterous linework as exemplified by Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, as well as a symbolic use of color, greatly influenced painters of the same period. Then, after the country’s opening at the end of the Edo period, Hokusai’s work spread to Europe alongside trade goods, where it was highly appraised by local artists who then incorporated his motifs and compositions into their own art. It is well-known that Hokusai’s influence is often seen in the paintings of Impressionist painters, which are also quite popular in Japan.
In this exhibition, in addition to Katsushika Hokusai’s masterpiece, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, his early portraits of actors, and paintings of yokai, we will also exhibit a variety of work including landscape paintings created after he was deeply impressed by Western techniques of copper engraving, as well as precious hand-drawn images. Additionally, we will introduce the work of disciples who were taught by Hokusai, as well as French printmaker Henri Rivière’s 36 Views of the Eiffel Tower, inspired by Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
Through about 170 pieces which bring his art into full view, this exhibition draws close to the charm of Hokusai, whom the world admires so greatly.