British Museum acquires 'lost' Japanese artworks
A drawing by Hokusai entitled “Yi Di orders the people to use rice juice to brew wine.”
The British Museum said on Thursday it had acquired 103 “lost” drawings from the 19th century of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, whose internationally renowned work includes the iconic “The Great Wave.”
The black-and-white drawings were composed in 1829, when Hokusai was 70, as illustrations for an unpublished book. They resurfaced in Paris in 2019 after they were last publicly recorded at an auction in 1948.
The British Museum, which boasts one of the world’s largest Hokusai collections outside Japan, said they were especially significant coming from a period when the artist was thought to be creatively quiet following a series of personal crises.
Their subjects range from the religious and historical to the mythological, and include previously unknown features of Hokusai’s oeuvre such as a musing on the origins of human culture in ancient China, the museum said in a statement.
“These works are a major new re-discovery, expanding considerably our knowledge of the artist’s activities at a key period in his life and work,” honorary research fellow Tim Clark said.
“All 103 pieces are treated with the customary fantasy, invention and brush skill found in Hokusai’s late works and it is wonderful that they can finally be enjoyed by the many lovers of his art worldwide,” he said.
The drawings are available online and will feature in a free exhibition.
