Hokusai’s Career in Prints

Internationally renowned for iconic works such as Under the Wave off Kanagawa (also known as The Great Wave), Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) designed popular woodblock prints for more than five decades. He worked in a variety of genres, including monochrome illustrated books, simple prints in a few colors, full-color “brocade” prints, and deluxe private editions sponsored by poetry groups. His boundless creativity led to a prolific output on a range of subjects. He had a remarkable ability to capture expressions and gestures in only a few lines, and he was a stylistic innovator.

Hokusai’s designs were translated into the print medium by carvers and printers, who were appointed by a publisher. In fact, Hokusai’s relationships with publishers and private commissioners of his prints helped shape his career. National Museum of Asian Art curator Kit Brooks examines the wide output of this artist, who has come to be seen as an embodiment of Japanese artistic style.

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