Picture this: Katushika Hokusai

Katushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is, without a doubt, the Japanese artist who has had the most influence on western art. He was the creator of In the Hollow of a Wave off the Coast at Kanagawa – the most archetypical picture of a tsunami wave ever produced.

Hokusai started his career as a painter of portraits, but the soon moved on to landscapes. He was inspired not only by the classic Japanese technique, but also by western art brought into Japan (at this time officially isolated from the rest of the world) by Dutch merchants.

The featured Red Fuji is part of Hokusai’s masterly series The Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The whole set was created from 1823 to 1831, and shows the artist at the peak of his capacity.

After the opening up of Japan Hokusai’s art spread like wildfire across Europe and made an immense impact on the artists looking for new ways of expression at this point in time. This can be seen clearly in the work of the symbolists, such as Paul Gaugain and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Picture this is a standing feature in the weekly journal Flamman.