hokusai self portrait (1839)
it's perhaps fair to say that of all the japanese woodcut artists, hokusai is the most well-known and widely venerated. his iconic image "the great wave of konagawa" seen here -
- is instantly recognizable from its inclusion in so many artbooks and in association with so many sites devoted to japanese culture.
here is another iconic hokusai image taken from a series he did of mount fuli. this one is entitled "red fuji southern wind clear morning".
hokusai was born into an artisan's family and clearly benefitted from the perspective of his father who placed him into apprenticeship with a woodcarver at the age of fourteen.
you really should watch this this beautifully drawn short film on hokusai.
if you enjoyed that, you might also enjoy this video gallery of hokusai's work.
and the current fan-favourite around the golden fish world headquarters water cooler:
"carp leaping up a cascade"
