The artistic endeavor under examination has had a great deal of charm, so much so that even the Western painting was affected. The primal merit ascribed to Hokusai lies in the fact that he has been innovative in the choice of object. In fact, there is evidence of some kind of renewal of the ukiyo-e genre, as reflected in capturing landscapes and not only beauty, actors and other predetermined subjects.
The artist successfully draws the purely aesthetic feature from the observation of the physical phenomenon: the conical Mount Fuji inscribed into the semicircular wavefront results in a stroke of art genius. This is a seminal example about how the geometry of nature comes out in all its own artistic beauty.
The enchantment of the form is magnified by the wonderful staining adopted: the alternating bands in blue of the wave are such that a deep-to-bright gradient texture is given. The author used the indigo to make the outline sharper.
However, the artist not only can see in nature the perfection of shape and color purity, but he can also capture any spirit. In such a case, it is admissible to speak about of an anthropomorphic vision: the wave looks as being enlivened by a sort of willingness to compete in elevation with the mountain in the background; it’s like the formidable dynamism of the former is at odds with the mighty immobility of the latter. The hook-shaped minute components of the wavefront fringing rather resemble claws out in the act of snatching the flattened and tiny human figures on the boards.
The destructive force of the sea is in contrast, even in a symbolic sense, to the mountain appearance: if the former evokes the fragility of the human existence facing nature, the latter is instead representative of immortality. These two extremes, namely transiency of being and eternity, seem to exercise significant influence on the artistic sensitivity which hence takes place within a framework of Mt. Fuji’s scenic views.
Tokitarō, better known under the name of Katsushika Hokusai, was presumably born, in Edo, on October/November, 1760 and died on May 10, 1849. He was the third son of Kawamura Itiroyemon, which never acknowledged his native soon for the purposes of succession.
Hokusai started, exactly when he was 12, as a mobile library delivery boy. During his apprenticeship in the print shop of a plate engraver, he was only 14 years old when he engraved the last pages of a funny novel. Later, he received training in the workshop of the notorius ukiyo-e painter Katsukawa Shunshō. When this master noticed that his pupil had made remarkable progress, he assigned him the pseudonym Shunrō. However, young Hokusai had to leave the studio fast because he was prone to draw inspiration from the European painting, and this caused unresolved misunderstandings with the master successor.
From that time on, the artist lived no more than two months in one place, living like a wanderer maybe to pursue an inspiration, or for economic reasons. The latter option is valid in itself because he agreed to carry out different works, even distant from the fields of art, to improve that condition. In the spirit of art, Hokusai experienced more genres, such as surimono (holiday cards for differing circumstances), illustration of satirical books, thrillers, children or ladies’ illustrated stories – of which he was also the author – whereby he developed the prospective and Chinese art studies.
He managed for a short time a painting studio, but then he took the final decision to work as an independent artist under the Katsushika Hokusai alias. The latter evokes both the North Star and the Edo area where once stood the native neighborhood.
Hokusai made his reputation as a “quirky artist” since his artworks ranged from huge to miniaturized dimensions, in the case of paint on grains of rice. Having participated in a painting contest to release talents, he ultimately got an invitation from shōgun Tokugawa Ienari.
After his son’s death, he lost his major economic support and settled for the second-best choice of illustration of books and publication of painting textbook, and for this to happen he was running round town looking for apprentices. At this time, he produced a number of sketches, the so called Hokusai manga, depicting various subjects.
Owing to debts incurred by his nephew, he was forced to spend the last years of his life endless wandering just keeping away from Edo. And when he finally could get back, the working conditions were scarce because the city was facing a serious famine. If that was not enough, a fire broke out his studio, along with most of artworks carried out, and he also experienced any health problems.
Notwithstanding this, Hokusai produced right then what almost can be considered his most important artworks, notably the series entitled Views over famous bridges, Waterfalls in various provinces, One-hundred views of Mount Fuji (unfinished) and, particularly, Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, to which the present artistic endeavor belongs.
He was assisted in his work as a painter and in the last years of life by his daughter Katsushika Oi who was the only member of the family to inherit the passion for painting of his father.
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