Zen Hokusai Fuji shôkei (Vues du mont Fuji)

Zen Hokusai Fuji shôkei
[Views of Mount Fuji]
Twelve views of Mount Fuji on double page extracts from the famous Trente-six vues du mont Fuji. The set forms an accordion measuring 18,5 by 252 cm. The series of 36 prints of views of Mount Fuji was published in 1831. The plates are mostly signed Zen Hokusai Litsu, the name the artist used around 1820.

Folding book (Orihon), without stitching, the two coverboards are glued against the first and last print. Gauffered beige cover with a view of Mount Fuji by Hokusai. Marks on the upper board, small white stains on five centimeters. Title label on fabric. An inventory label glued to the top left of the first board. Ex-libris written in ink “Ch. David” at the top of the second board.
The Trente-six vues du Mont Fuji place the master at the top of his art. The mythical volcano was long celebrated, in legends, literature and painting; the painter takes a well-known theme, and transforms it in completely new ways. Shown from multiple view points, in different lights, enhanced by ingenious framing and placing Mount Fuji at the centre of everyday Japanese life, the image of the volcano never repeats itself. Through the use of colour, Hokusai invents a new form of perspective, never seen before.

A rare and precious copy.