Katsushika Hokusai · Hokusai Soga 1820 · Double-page ehon...

Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎, 1760–1849) Title: Double-page illustration from Hokusai Soga 北斎麁画 (Hokusai's Rough Sketches) Technique: Woodblock print, sumi ink with grey and limited colour Date: Japan, 1820 (Bunsei 3), Edo period Publishers: Minoya Iroku, Nagoya, with Eirakuya Tōshirō and other publishers in Edo Format: Double-page illustration (mihiraki) from the bound volume, offered as two separate sheets; together approx. 22*26cm Condition Fair impression and fair colors; minor loss to the right sheet at the bottom. Some minor trimming! Please check the images! About the print Hokusai Soga is a one-volume picture book that Hokusai designed when he was about sixty and signing as Taito. The book carries a preface dated 1820. It was published by Minoya Iroku of Nagoya together with a group of Edo publishers. It belongs to the same family of drawing manuals and sketch books as the famous Hokusai Manga, but its illustrations are larger and fill the whole page. The book was printed in two versions: one in black ink only, and one with soft grey shading and a light colour block. The sheets offered here come from the coloured version. The British collector and scholar Jack Hillier considered Hokusai Soga to contain the finest figure prints Hokusai ever made. He was particularly impressed by Hokusai's lively scenes of ordinary people at work and in motion. Copies of the book are held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. This design was printed across two facing pages of the book. The two sheets are offered together and form the complete composition.

Estimate:£126.91

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