Hokusai: Paintings, Drawings, and Woodcuts

Hokusai is one of the few Japanese artists whose appeal is not restricted to those who understand and appreciate the Eastern idiom in painting. His art has indeed a universal appeal; for despite the revolutions in our taste since Hokusai's death in 1849, enthusiasm for his work, and admiration for such masterpieces as his prints The Wave, Irises, and Fuji in Clear Weather have in no way lessened -- rather his stature and popularity in the West have continued to grow.

In this book, first published in 1955, but still the most compreherisive and fully illustrated work on Hokusai published in English, the author describes the slow unfolding of the artist's gifts as print designer and book illustrator. The text is accompanied by well over 100 chronologically arranged reproductions in black and white, and 18 plates in full color, ranging from Hokusai's earliest book illustrations of about 1780 to a print made in the last year of his life. Mr Hillier also discusses and reproduces Hokusai's paintings and brush drawings, which are little known and convey the impact of the artist's genius without the intermediary of the engraver.

The bibliography of this now standard work has been expanded and updated for this new edition.

J. Hillier is a life-long expert on Japanese art, and has written widely on the subject. His works include a monograph on Utamaro (1961), Hokusai Drawings (1966), and a three-volume catalogue of the Veveur Collection of Japanese prints (1976).

142 illustrations, 18 in color