Stuff You Missed in History Class Hokusai
Jun 15, 2015
Explore the life of Katsushika Hokusai, from his early talent and adoption to his innovative art techniques. Discover how he blended Eastern and Western influences, while creating masterpieces like The Great Wave and the iconic 36 Views of Mount Fuji. Delve into the financial struggles he faced and his late-life experimentation. Learn how Hokusai's work inspired European artists during the rise of Impressionism and transformed global art culture, leaving a lasting legacy.
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Great Wave Became Global Icon
- Hokusai's Great Wave is widely recognizable even by people unfamiliar with him.
- The print exemplifies how ukiyo-e reached broad audiences during the Edo period.
Isolation Did Not Block Artistic Exchange
- Hokusai lived under the Tokugawa (Edo) period's isolationist policies.
- Despite limited Western contact, his work absorbed and later influenced Western art.
Policy Created A Market For Prints
- Tokugawa policies forced daimyo to maintain residences and travel, boosting internal travel and commerce.
- That mobility helped create a prosperous urban middle class and demand for ukiyo-e art.
