An intimate exploration of the life and work of Hokusai, one of the most revered and influential japanese artists of all time.
From March 27 to June 29, in the heart of Rome, Palazzo Bonaparte will host an extraordinary exhibition showcasing 200 pieces by the timeless Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), on loan from the renowned National Museum in Krakow.
Hokusai stands out as a central figure of the Edo period (1603–1868), a time when the Floating World culture of Ukiyo-e flourished and later deeply influenced both Japanese and Western art.
The exhibition is divided into two floors, tracing Hokusai’s journey through 1800s Japan and composing a visual dialogue with his iconic works, including The Great Wave off Kanagawa, his serene Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, and his revolutionary sketchbook series Manga.
Hokusai’s Eternal Landscapes
Nature was Hokusai’s lifelong muse. The first floor of the exhibition transports visitors to 1800s Japan, offering a glimpse into the artist’s evolution in his tireless experimentation with form, technique, and narrative. As a lover of his land, Hokusai’s early pieces, such as The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō, portray his deep reverence for his country and its landscapes.
Visitors are invited to witness how his observation of nature goes beyond mere representation, as he not only captures its physicality but also its emotional dimension.
Ultimately, what is profoundly compelling is Hokusai’s ability to capture human life and merge it with nature. In many of his works, such as View of Mount Fuji from Lake Suwa Shinshū Suwa-ko, the sacred mountain shares the canvas with humble human-built structures. While Mount Fuji often recedes into the background, it is the human presence that emerges on the canvas, magnifying Hokusai’s sensitivity to life.
As a prodigy of observation, Hokusai’s creative arc led him to explore plants, seasons, animals, human figures, and all in between, ultimately constructing eternal landscapes.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
It was only after turning seventy that he created some of his most famous masterpieces, including his most iconic image: The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Known as his most renowned piece, it symbolizes the destructive power of nature against humanity’s fragility (small fishing boats), while the delicate strokes that shape pieces of Mount Fuji reveal a profound harmony between humanity and the natural world. The piece serves as a metaphor for Japan’s vulnerability to foreign, Western influences during a time of a self imposed isolation.
It is part of the Master of Water series, which showcases Hokusai’s ability to depict the fluidity and movement of water in all its forms. The exhibition reveals how Hokusai could capture the infinite variations of the element, with no two shapes alike in the entire series.
Water is explored in depth throughout the first part of the exhibition. The series “A Journey Among the Waterfalls of Various Provinces” conveys a dynamic rhythm through Hokusai’s exceptional brushwork, transforming nature into an elegant flow of energy.
The Old Man Mad About Painting (“Gakyō rōjin”)
In his later years, he often signed his works as “Gakyō rōjin,” meaning “Old Man Mad About Painting,” a name that reflects his way of observing the world and reinventing it through his drawing.
The second floor of the exhibition shifts focus to the rich cultural, spiritual, and literary side of 1800s Japan. Here, visitors are immersed in its myths, legends, and folklore, brought to life through his work alongside over 180 pieces, including rare books and valuable Japanese objects such as kimonos, travel accessories, armor, helmets, swords, and traditional musical instruments.
Visitors will encounter fascinating scenes in the series One Hundred Ghost Stories ,with each piece underscoring the deep connection between Hokusai’s work and Japan’s cultural heritage.
This part of the exhibition also reveals lesser-known facets of Hokusai’s character, such as his wit and playful spirit. In “Self-Portrait as a Fisherman,” a refined surimono print in which the artist humorously engages with his own image, offers a glimpse of his lighthearted side.
Manga
In the art world, Hokusai is known as the father of Manga, a genre of Japanese comics that evolved from simple sketches into a respected art form. He created a 15-volume collection that reveals his innovative approach to visual storytelling.
The exhibition showcases some of his most celebrated manga, shedding light on how his restless experimentation and his desire to communicate complex ideas through drawing.
A Lasting Legacy
The exhibition is further enriched with a different perspective on 19th-century Japan through the photographs of Italian traveller and photographer Felice Beato, who was among the first to document the country as it opened up to the West.
Beato’s images, presented in a video that tells his life story and artistic journey, portray landscapes, cities, and scenes of daily life, creating an ideal extension of the dialogue with Hokusai’s visual universe.
Hokusai’s influence on Western artists, including Claude Monet, Van Gogh, and even composers like Claude Debussy, is evident in the way he redefined what art could be beyond observation, and how it could communicate the connection between the beauty of nature and the depth of the human figure.
The exhibition also features an immersive installation inspired by Hokusai’s Great Wave, which aims to challenge each visitor to face their own wave eye to eye.
