Pictures after Nature (Hokusai shashin gafu) 北斎写真画譜
ca. 1814
Medium
Polychrome woodblock prints in a book; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
10 × 13 1/4 × 1/4 in. (25.4 × 33.7 × 0.6 cm)
Classification
Illustrated Books
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1918
Accession Number
JIB17
Tags
Art Historical Context
Katsushika Hokusai’s *Pictures after Nature* (Hokusai shashin gafu), created around 1814 during Japan’s Edo period, is a delightful illustrated book that captures the artist’s keen observations of the natural world. Hokusai, one of the most celebrated masters of ukiyo-e, compiled this volume as a collection of sketches drawn “after nature,” featuring motifs such as men amid peonies and trees. The book reflects the vibrant cultural life of Edo-era Japan, when artists increasingly turned to everyday scenes and botanical studies for inspiration. Printed as polychrome woodblock pages with ink and...
About the Artist
Katsushika Hokusai · 1760–1849
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) stands as one of history's most influential artists, a Japanese master who revolutionized the ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and profoundly shaped Western art. Born in the Katsushika district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to an artisan family, Hokusai lived through nearly nine decades of extraordinary creative evolution, adopting over thirty different artistic names t...