Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai (1769-1849) was one of the greatest of the Japanese print designers, painters and book illustrators, and by far the most famous Asian artist in the West. This richly illustrated monograph provides an overview of the master's life and works in all media. Comprising introductory essays, seven chapters embracing Hokusai's entire career and some 700 illustrations, it presents and analyses a large selection of Hokusai's finest works in all media, covering his whole career and giving a scholarly and up-to-date interpretation of the artist and his significance. This big and beautiful book presents a comprehensive survey of the work of one of Japan's greatest and most influential artists, together with a collection of essays that focus on a key aspects of the master's career. The book opens with an introductory essay by Gian Carlo Calza presenting an overview of the changing world Hokusai was born into and lived through. This is followed by a series of essays by distinguished Western and Japanese scholars that present new research on a range of crucial areas of interest in Hokusai studies. These provide a context for the core of the book, which forms a retrospective.