Woodblock Woodcut
Woodblock Woodcut
Ukiyo-e master Hokusai Great Wave woodblock art
Hokusai (1760-1849) is world famous for his designs of Mount Fuji, the highest mountain famous in Japan. Hokusai (ie "North Star") represents Mount Fuji in a triangular shape impressive in his prints of the sacred mountain in summer with large clouds floating in a beam next to the mountian. A look at the composition as simple and efficient makes an unforgettable impression on the viewer.
Mini Biography
Little is known about the early life of Hokusai. It was said that has developed a desire to draw all kinds of subjects related to nature the age of 6 years. Also from a young age came into contact with the art of logging. This experience was as a "hidden force" when became a designer of types of wood in their adult life. At age 19 he became a student of Shunsho which marks the beginning of his career as an illustrator.
Their first impressions give the impression that Hokusai was not a natural talent, but that was offset by his possessiveness drawing and productivity, which is unparalleled in history Ukiyo-e. Initially designed primarily kabuki (actor) engravings and book illustrations but gradually began to experiment in the Ukiyo-e from other genres as surimono (in charge of printing), kacho-ga (Flower and bird print) and Shunga (Erotic print).
Manga
Hokusai In 1812 he traveled to Kyoto and Osaka. This time it produced hundreds of sketches with the intention of obtaining their publication as a handbook on the art of drawing. Between 1812 and 1820 the first ten volumes were published, which are known worldwide as "notebooks drawing by Hokusai (Hokusai Manga).
This overwhelming and amazing diversity of drawings showing the viewer the full reality of everyday life in Japan. The subjects are almost limitless and forms an encyclopaedia of human life colors and work, myths and legends of the materials and the natural environment.
Great Wave
It's like the production of these books are an exercise in finger, a preamble contemplative masterpiece which ranks in the pantheon Hokusai of the greatest artists on a par with Raphael, Michelangelo and Rembrandt. This masterpiece of the series, called the "36 Views of Mount Fuji '(Fugaku Sanjurokkei), with Mount Fuji as its main theme, played in changing conditions in different places and points of view, was published Hokusai, when he was 70. One copy is called "below the Wave off Kanagawa" (The Great Wave) and is the most famous print story Japanese art in wood.
Hokusai Great Wave of print is a huge wave coming from the left and reach the sky with its tentacles peaks ready to crush the vessels passengers. It's magnificent juxtaposition of the three elements of the divine, human and earthly is presented here in a harmony the appearance is perfect as an impact and power. Hokusai was '36 Views of Mount Fuji "series and especially the great wave Impressionists providing a decisive boost in their quest for the invention of a new art, as stated by Edmond de Goncourt in his book on Hokusai in 1896:
"This series horizontal, with crude colors instead, yet attempt to reproduce the colors of nature in all lighting conditions, is the album that inspired the Impressionist landscapes of the present moment. "
Books by Hokusai
"Hokusai" by Gian Carlo Calza, The Hokusai Sketchbooks' by James A. Michener, Hokusai: 'First Manga Master' by Jocelyn Bouquillard and Christophe Marquet.
About the Author
My name is Marijn Kruijff and I am an artdealer specialized in Japanese woodblock prints. We have a website called AK-Antiek and are located in Coevorden, the Netherlands. On our site we have a special section of Hokusai’s work.
Click here for checking out The Great Wave..
Here You Can find prints by Hokusai’s contemporaries.