Art fans will be interested to learn that 103 newly-rediscovered drawings by Japanese artist, Katsushika Hokusai, have been acquired by the British Museum in London. Created in 1829 as illustrations for an unpublished work, Great Picture Book of Everything, they are available to the public to view online.
Hokusai (1760-1849) is considered by many to be Japan’s greatest artist, having gained international recognition since the Japonisme era of the 1870s, two decades after his death. Throughout his 70-year career, he produced over 3000 color prints, illustrations for more than 200 books, hundreds of drawings, and over 1000 paintings.
Formerly owned by the collector and art nouveau jeweller, Henri Vever, who died in 1842, the newly-discovered drawings were last publicly recorded at an auction in Paris in 1948, and resurfaced there last year. They are thought to have been in a private collection in France during the intervening years. This acquisition now enhances the British Museum’s extensive collection of Hokusai works, which is one of the most comprehensive outside Japan.
This addition brings the museum’s total number of paintings, prints, drawings, and illustrated works to over 1000. The collection contains depictions of religious, mythological, historical, and literary figures, as well as landscapes, animals, birds, flowers, and other natural phenomena.
The drawings represent a major discovery in Hokusai’s oeuvre and are particularly significant as they originate from a period in the artist’s life previously thought to be marked by relative inactivity due to personal hardships. Within two years prior, he suffered the loss of his second wife and recovered from a minor stroke. Furthermore, just months after these pieces were completed, he expressed financial distress in a letter, partly due to gambling debts incurred by his grandson.
These drawings signify a turning point in Hokusai’s creative journey, marking the onset of a renewed burst of inspiration that would soon culminate in his renowned print series, Thirty-Six Views of Mt Fuji (c. 1831-1833). All 103 drawings can be viewed online here, and plans are underway to showcase them as part of a future exhibition at the museum.
“This is a truly wonderful addition to the British Museum’s collection and marks another milestone in our commitment to collecting Hokusai’s works, a journey that has continued for more than 150 years,” states Hartwig Fischer, the museum’s director. “We’re delighted that these newly discovered pieces are now part of a public collection for everyone to appreciate.”
