The beauty of art is necessary for happiness. In everyday life the arts give that extra dimension to life that makes it a great adventure. The art and design in buildings, city planning, gardens and parks, roads, bridges - everything that we use daily contributes to a happy and fulfilling life. Ugly buildings, sloppy design, poor quality workmanship, littering and defacing contributes to a miserable life. Why would you want a miserable life? Why would you want to impose a miserable life on others? Hokusai was not only a truly great artist. He also sent a message to common people, who could afford to buy his low cost prints. He conveyed the beauty of majesty, the mount Fujijama, in life. He conveyed the beauty of scenery - he said to people - look around you and see and enjoy the beauty of the scenery. He conveyed the beauty of a good human life - the craftmanship in making the timber, building the boat, fishing, growing tea, enjoying tea with the scenery. The 36 Views of Mt Fuji are religious prints. But different from the typical Christian religious motif the humans are not shown focused on the diety all the time, even if Mt Fuji is shown to have a pervading influence on their lives. The admiration and worship of Mt Fuji is often shown as incidental - a single traveler of the group casting a glance at the majestic mountain while the others are busy with the many other things to do. In other words a very realistic rendition on how the divine is taking part in everyday life. Katsushika Hokusai (c. October 31, 1760 - May 10, 1849) was a Japanese artist, painter and printmaker in Edo (Tokyo) period 1760-1849. Hokusai established landscape as a new print genre in Japan. At a young age, Hokusai was adopted by an uncle who held the prestigious position of mirror polisher in the household of the shogun, the commander-in-chief of feudal Japan. It was assumed that the young Hokusai would succeed him in the family business, and he likely received an excellent education in preparation for a job that would place him in direct contact with the upper class. In 19th-century Japan, learning to write also meant learning to draw, since the skills and materials required for either activity were almost identical. When Hokusai's formal education began at age six, he displayed an early artistic talent that would lead him down a new path. He began to separate himself from his uncle's trade in his early teens-perhaps because of a personal argument, or perhaps because he believed polishable metal mirrors would soon be replaced by the silvered glass mirrors being imported by the Dutch-and worked first as a clerk at a lending library and then later as a woodblock carver. At age 19, Hokusai joined the studio of ukiyo-e artist Katsukawa Shunsh&#333; and embarked on what would become a seven-decade-long career in art.

Hokusai 36 Views of Mount Fuji: Premium

Katsushika, Hokusai

Cristina Berna

Eric Thomsen

Missys Clan

What was Japan like in 1853, when this portrait was started by Utagawa Hiroshige with one print from each of the 69 provinces. It is an outstanding picture book from just before photography. Hiroshige travelled the T&#333;kaid&#333; road to participate in an important procession in Kyoto in 1832 and published his 53 Stations of the T&#333;kaid&#333; which was the most popular print series ever made in Japan, see the author's ISBN 9782919787647. It was even more popular than Hokusai's series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, which had been recently published and which had influenced Hiroshige tremendously (ISBN 9782919787159 as hard cover). Hiroshige also published 69 stations from the Nakasendo, the parallel inland mountain route between Edo and Kyoto, see ISBN 978-1-64786-379-1. The Famous Views from the Sixty-Odd Provinces contains some of Hiroshige's most beloved prints and he again uses the horizontal format he pioneered for landscape prints.

Hiroshige Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces: Hardcover

Hardcover Joaqu&#65533;n Sorolla (born in Valencia 1863 - died in Cercedilla 1923) is one of the most successful Spanish painters ever. He was a genius in capturing the essence of the scene he was painting. In Joaqu&#65533;n Sorolla Portraits 2 1890 -1910 Sorolla became a celebrated portrait painter. Following the success of his one man exhibitions in France 1906, to a lesser degree Germany 1907, England 1908 but especially the USA 1909 portrait commissions flooded in. Many of his most important sitters were male, but Sorolla did exquisite female portraits as well. Among his most successful portraits, however, were those of female sitters whom he invariably imbued with an elegance and beauty that rank them alongside the portraits of his contemporaries Giovanni Boldini, Anders Zorn and John Singer Sargent.

Joaquín Sorolla Portraits 2: Hardcover

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cristina Berna. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Cristina Berna

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cristina Berna. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Hokusai 36 Views of Mount Fuji: Premium

Hiroshige Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces: Hardcover

Joaquín Sorolla Portraits 2: Hardcover