An Analysis of Some Illustrated Books by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) in the Museum of Oriental Art in Venice

• Published in: Annali di Ca' Foscari : Rivista della Facoltà di lingue e letterature straniere dell'Università di Venezia Vol. 56; no. 56
• Main Author: Vesco, Silvia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari 01.06.2020
• Subjects: Digital database. Hokusai’s illustrated books. Japanese prints. Museum of Oriental Art collection, Venice. Painting didactic
• ISSN: 1125-3789; 2385-3042; 2385-3042
• DOI: 10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2020/56/022

The collection of Japanese prints, albums and illustrated books ( ehon ) in the Museum of Oriental Art in Venice is the result of the last stop in Japan of a journey to the Far East of Prince Henry Bourbon-Parma, Count of Bardi and his wife Adelgunde of Bragança, during the years 1887-1889. The gathering of more than thirty thousand objects became the core of the present collection. Among these there are about 500 illustrated books of famous ukiyoe masters, surimono , and colour prints nishikie. The creation of catalogue entries in Japanese and Italian and the analysis of each print reveals an amazing quantity of unpublished ukiyoe masterpieces and allows a division into different groups according to the subject matter. At the same time, this distinction into different genres shows an interesting tendency in the formation of the collection together with a possible new classification of the prints themselves. This study aims to shed a new light on this particular collection while focusing on a series of illustrated books by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1848). Among these the famous volumes of the Manga, the illustrated books on warriors, an unusual album with some prints from the One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji and a selection from the five volumes dedicated to teach the artisans how to draw all kind of decorations.