Fuji on the Swell

Fuji on the Swell is an original b/w japanese woodblock print on paper designed by the master of ukiyo-e, Katsushika Hokusai and published for the first time in 1835. The work is an illustration from the print series "Fugaku Hyakkei" (One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji) Vol.2. Original Title: Uneri Fuji (Fuji on the Swell)

This illustration is composed of two sheet jointed, in very good conditions, except for usual aging signs (foxing, some little stains).

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One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji  is the best-known series of three illustrated books by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist, Hokusai, considered as one of Japan's most exceptional illustrated books and the most influential in the Western culture. The first two volumes were published in 1834 and 1835, shortly after completion of his seminal Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, with a third released in the late 1840s.

As the title reports, the books contain over a hundred views of Mount Fuji in various styles and settings; Hokusai shows the peak in pure landscapes, with flora and fauna, in religious and mythological scenes and with different atmospheric effects, but above all, he focuses on ordinary people at work.

But The first two volumes are celebrated for their very high standards of technique : the woodblock printing, with " extremely fine cutting" and "exquisite gradation " of the grey blocks; they have been called a "masterpiece of monochrome printing".

Katsushika Hokusai (?? ??, c. 1760 – 1849), known simply as Hokusai , was a great master of Japanese art, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji : a monumental series, which includes the internationally iconic print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji. Thanks to this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fine Wind, Clear Morning, that secured Hokusai's fame both in Japan and overseas.

Starting as a young child, until his death, aged 88, during his long and successful career, he produced over 30,000 paintings, sketches, woodblock prints, and images for picture books in total. Hokusai worked in various fields besides woodblock prints, such as painting and producing designs for book illustrations, including his own educational Hokusai Manga.

Through his production he transformed the ukiyo-e artform from a style of portraiture largely focused on courtesans and actors into a much broader style of art that focused on landscapes, plants, and animals. Innovative in his compositions and exceptional in his drawing technique, Hokusai is considered one of the greatest masters in the history of art.