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The Mountains of Husband and Wife (Onyo imoseyama 阥阦妹背山)

Katsushika, Hokusai, 1760-1849 · 1810 · 3 pictures

A Japanese woodblock-printed illustrated book by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), published in Edo in 1810, drawn for a general readership of popular fiction and theatre fans. The pictures are monochrome line-and-ink blocks with dense hatching, showing figures in interiors, gardens and street scenes. A designer could take from them the economical contour line, layered stippled textures and compositional use of screens, roofs and foliage framing small figures.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library