Katsushika Hokusai (1760\u20131849) is one of the most important artists of Japanese woodblock printing from the Edo period (1603\u20131868). His works depict a world captured in motion and constant flux, characteristic of the ukiyo-e aesthetic (literally \u2018pictures of the floating world\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This monographic exhibition dedicated to the work of Katsushika Hokusai, organised by the National Museum in Krak\u00f3w and presented at the Palazzo Bonaparte in Rome, showcases the artist\u2019s oeuvre within the broader cultural context of Edo-period Japan. The exhibition features works by Hokusai alongside selected examples of Japanese arts and crafts related to everyday life of the time, forming a coherent narrative based entirely on the National Museum in Krak\u00f3w\u2019s own collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Katsushika Hokusai was an exceptionally versatile artist who developed his artistic language throughout his life, seeking new formal solutions. His oeuvre comprises, above all, extensive landscape series, nature paintings, compositions referencing history and literature, commemorative prints, as well as pattern books and sketchbooks. He was one of the first Japanese artists whose work gained widespread recognition outside Japan and exerted a significant influence on 19th-century European art. To this day, he remains an important point of reference for popular culture, thanks in part to the \u2018Hokusai Manga\u2019 series, which played a significant role in the emergence and development of the modern Japanese comic. The exhibition features nearly 200 of his works \u2013 including both woodblock prints and illustrated albums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exhibition in Rome coincides with the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Italy, placing the Polish collection within this special context. Beata Romanowicz, a Polish curator and head of the Far Eastern Art Department at the National Museum in Krak\u00f3w, is responsible for the exhibition\u2019s concept. She designed it specifically for the Palazzo Bonaparte, taking into account the character of the interiors and the decorative elements present within them, including a sculpture by Antonio Canova (1757\u20131822), one of the most outstanding representatives of European Neoclassicism, whose work developed in parallel with that of Hokusai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The starting point for the exhibition itself are the writings of Feliks \u2018Mangghi\u2019 Jasie\u0144ski \u2013 a collector whose donation in 1920 played a key role in the development of the Japanese collections at the National Museum in Krak\u00f3w.
His reflections accompany the subsequent sections of the exhibition, guiding the viewer through the diverse themes of Hokusai\u2019s work \u2013 from depictions related to the T\u014dkaid\u014d, the most important transport route in Edo-period Japan, to the motifs of nature and the elements present in the series \u2018Views of Waterfalls in Various Provinces\u2019 and in the series \u201cThirty-six Views of Mount Fuji\u201d, which includes the artist\u2019s most recognisable compositions, such as \u201cThe Great Wave off Kanagawa\u201d and \u201cFine Weather with a Southerly Wind\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Subsequent sections of the exhibition showcase other areas of Hokusai\u2019s work \u2013 series inspired by literature and poetry, including \u201cOne Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets as Told by a Wet Nurse\u201d. Alongside these are collections of surimono \u2013 commemorative prints of high artistic and technical quality, created to order and distinguished by their particular attention to form. A significant part of the exhibition is also devoted to his sketchbooks and pattern books, represented, among others, by the \u201cHokusai Manga\u201d series. The whole is complemented by fantastical depictions \u2013 ghosts and apparitions \u2013 revealing the fantastical world present in the artist\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This narrative is further enriched by the examples of Japanese artistic craftsmanship on display \u2013 some 150 objects that allow Hokusai\u2019s work to be situated within the context of the material culture of the Edo period. The exhibition features lacquerware, including inr\u014d boxes, as well as cups and combs. These are accompanied by items of armour and sword fittings, showcasing the artistry of Japanese metallurgy and craftsmanship. A separate section is devoted to textiles, including kimonos of varying degrees of formality, obi sashes, haori jackets and furoshiki wraps. The collection is complemented by ceramic objects and bronze castings, evoking the natural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The combination of woodblock prints and craft objects allows Hokusai\u2019s work to be viewed in a broader perspective, whilst also providing an introduction to the history of Japanese art collecting at the National Museum in Krak\u00f3w. The exhibition features carefully selected items from various stages of the collection\u2019s development \u2013 from the earliest donations, including two vases decorated with scenes of silk production, donated in 1892 by Wiktor Os\u0142awski, a patriot and the museum\u2019s first donor of Far Eastern artefacts, to the most recent acquisitions, represented, among others, by a donation of woodblock prints to the museum by Dr Jens Wiebell in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in Italian by Beata Romanowicz, containing texts and notes on the woodcuts and selected examples of decorative arts featured in the exhibition. The Hokusai exhibition has also been covered by prestigious international media, including the Italian newspapers \u2018Corriere della Sera\u2019 and \u2018La Repubblica\u2019.
Curator: Beata Romanowicz<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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