(1760 - 1849)
THE AOIGAOKA WATERFALL IN EDO, c. 1832
Colour woodblock print, from the celebrated series A Journey to the Waterfalls of All the Provinces a set of eight prints in vertical oban format, published by Eijudo c. 1832. Signed Zen Hokusai Iitsu hitsu, red kiwame seal and red seal of Eijudo, partly trimmed. Very good impression, good colour, the sheet partly trimmed, generally in good condition. 362 x 246 mm.
The series is amongst Hokusai’s finest work and much sought after. The waterfall depicted here is, in fact, a spillway for the Tameike reservoir.
Hokusai was the greatest of all the Japanese painters of Ukiyo-e. He was a voracious student of a huge range of artistic techniques and his work covered a spectrum of art forms: polychrome or ink paintings; surimono (de luxe, small-edition woodblock prints) and polychrome prints; woodblocks for all kind of illustrated books; erotic pictures. Hokusai is thought to have made in all at least 30,000 drawings and the illustrations for 500 books. He led a life of singular variety, sustained by his inexhaustible energy.
