Page 288 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

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KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Sanka hakuu (Storm below the summit) [Black Fuji]
Woodblock print, from the series Fugaku sanjurokkei (Thirty-six
views of Mount Fuji), signed Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu, published by
Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudo), late 1831
Horizontal oban: 10º x 15 in. (26 x 38.1 cm.)
$200,000-300,000

This iconic print, from Hokusai's great series Thirty-Six Views of Mt.
Fuji, is instantly recognisable due to the extent to which this series
has been reproduced throughout the world.
Hokusai was about seventy years old when he began the series
and his fascination with depicting Mt Fuji was to continue until
his death. At the centre of his art was the constant re-working of
concepts and forms, which is clear to see in his many depictions of
the famous mountain. In this case, on the surface there are minimal
alterations when compared to the composition of another iconic
print in the series, South Wind, Clear Sky and yet upon closer
inspection the two designs could not be more different. South
Wind, Clear Sky has a calm brightness to it, however the present
print, with almost identical composition of mountain, trees and
sky, has a dark agitation as a sudden storm sparks at the base of the
mountain, with forks of lightning spiking across the lower slopes
and the clouds have come down to cluster around the mountain.