Katsushika HOKUSAI

Exhibited by Galerie Tanakaya

Material Woodblock print on paper

Dimensions 49.9 × 22.9 cm

Place of Creation Edo (Tokyo)

Price Available upon inquiry

Status Vetted

About the Work

Hokusai reached the fullness of his art for landscapes in the early 1830’s, when he was already 70 years old. That is when he drew his most important series, known to all Japanese prints lovers : the 36 Views of Mount Fuji, the Strange Bridges in the Provinces, the Waterfalls, The Mirror of Chinese and Japanese Poetry, The Poems Explained by the Nurse, etc.

This very rare print shows the Chinese poet Li Bai (701 – 762) admiring the waterfall at Mount Lu. He wrote then wrote this poem, famous in Asia : Sunlight steams the river stones/From high above, the river steadily plunges/Three thousand feet of sparking water/The Milky Way pouring down from heaven. The poet, in this print, is supported by two little boys to prevent him from falling into the water. Li Bai was indeed known to love alcohol, which sometimes made it difficult for him to maintain his balance.

Hokusai was fascinated by depiction of water, and this is felt in this powerful work of art of an unusual format that perfectly showcases the waterfall.

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Provenance

Private collection. Former Henri Vever collection

Literature

J. Hillier, Japanese Prints and Drawings from the Vever Collection, London 1976, n° 723 (this print) ; T. Clark, Beyond the Great Wave, British Museum, London 2017, n° 70 ; S. Thomson, Hokusai's Landscapes, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2019, n° 89.