Hokusai and Japanese Art
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, 10" x 15" color woodcut, The Hakone Museum in Japan. The Old Man Mad About Drawing"From the age of six, I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was fifty, I had published a universe of designs, but all I have done before the the age of seventy is not worth bothering with. At seventy-five, I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am eighty, you will see real progress. At ninety, I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At a hundred, I shall be a marvelous artist. At a hundred and ten, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I only beg that gentlemen of sufficiently long life take care to note the truth of my words." " - Hokusai (age 73)
Recommended External LinksThe Hokusai Museumin Obuse, a town in central Japan. Life and work. On-line display and brief descriptions of selected works from the collection. Katsushika Hokusai bio Scribbles Kids Art Site |