- Hardcover: 40 pages
- Publisher: Fsg Kids (Oct 1 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0374332630
- ISBN-13: 978-0374332631
- Product Dimensions: 25.9 x 23.1 x 0.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 386 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #698,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The spirit of Hokusai, the Japanese artist best-known for his Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, moves through the pages of Ray's (The Barn Owl) study with indefatigable energy. Born in 1760 and a rare peasant to rise to prominence during an era when Japan remained closed to the outside world, Hokusai outshone his masters and defied convention until his death at age 89. The painter, who never knew his father and whose mother died when he was just six years old, developed a quiet confidence and portrayed the peasantry from whence he came: " `I must paint the way my heart tells me,' he told wealthy patrons when they refused to buy his pictures of laboring artisans and humble farmers toiling in the fields." Ray's wash and colored-pencil illustrations depict Kabuki stages and fish markets that echo Hokusai's own sketches of everyday life (reproduced on the book's endpapers) yet her style remains her own. Instead of emulating the empty spaces and delicate brushwork characteristic of Japanese artwork, she drafts her figures with tangible weight and mass and clothes them in heavily shaded robes in deep blue, red and aqua. The text supplies plenty of historical background without undue complexity. Older children will be drawn to Hokusai's lively world, and adults will find inspiration in the man who wrote as he lay dying, "Even as a ghost/ I'll gaily tread/ the summer moors." Ages 7-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-Born into poverty and orphaned at six years old, Hokusai longed for an environment that would allow him the opportunity to read and draw. Although faced with dire challenges, his determination and talent carried him through childhood until he could set his course on a road that led to greatness. Hokusai produced 30,000 works of art, including the famous Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. This picture-book biography tells of the life of a man who influenced Western Impressionists as well as Eastern talents. The text and evocative artwork provide details and scenes of everyday Japanese life in the 19th century. The illustrations include accomplished soft watercolor and colored-pencil paintings, labeled Chinese characters, drawings from the artist's sketchbooks, and a reproduction of Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." Julia Altmann's One Day in Japan with Hokusai (Prestel, 2001) is a semi-fictionalized account of the man illustrated with his woodblock prints. Ray's delightful offering will be enjoyed by budding artists and biography fans, and will be a useful adjunct to studies on art, artists, or Japan and its culture.
Ilene Abramson, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful and fascinating book!,
By
This review is from: Hokusai (Hardcover)
Hokusai was the Japanese print artist who created the famous illustration of the waves with Mt. Fuji in the background. I read this book with my 8 year old daughter as part of our homeschool studies on Japan. We both very much enjoyed learning about the life of this fascinating man and gifted artist.This book is filled with colourful, lively illustrations (by a modern artist, not by Hokusai) and the text gives just the right amount of information to keep the story interesting for a young person. We both learned a lot--about Hokusai, who was so devoted to art that he drew pictures every day of his life from his young boyhood until his death as a very old man--and about Japanese history. I would highly recommend this book for any child who is interested either in Japanese culture and history, or in the lives of famous artists.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous!,
By
This review is from: Hokusai (Hardcover)
This story of a famous Japanese artist (1760-1849) is beautifully written and illustrated. It is a story of rising beyond the limitations of class, of educating oneself through persistence and hard work, and of not being confined by the narrow views of others to reach one's potential. Katsushik Hokusai influenced the work of Western Impressionists artists. This is a book not to be missed if you are studying this prolific artist.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous!,
By P. Gardner "Penny Gardner" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Hokusai (Hardcover)
This story of a famous Japanese artist (1760-1849) is beautifully written and illustrated. It is a story of rising beyond the limitations of class, of educating oneself through persistence and hard work, and of not being confined by the narrow views of others to reach one's potential. Katsushik Hokusai influenced the work of Western Impressionists artists. This is a book not to be missed if you are studying this prolific artist.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
HANDS THAT DREW SACRED MOUNT FUJI SKETCHED LION-DOGS FOR LUCK !,
By mcHaiku "nmi" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Hokusai (Hardcover)
Authors are often advised to "write what you know" but when a Japanese artist in the 19th century defied convention to paint the familiar - - the humblest of peasants, 'fragrant' laborers in fish markets - - wealthy patrons would not buy his art. However, Hokusai persisted and his influence has been phenomenal. He used more than thirty other names in his lifetime. The name "Hokusai" was adopted officially when he was 36 years old. It meant *North Star Studio." Hokusai was a Buddhist and believed that the constellations had the power to guide him. His art was his 'North Star' I believe, or his sun or moon? Sometimes we read about persons that we *ache* to have known; Hokusai was such a person for me.Amazingly he changed his place of residence more than ninety times. Every morning he sketched a *lion-dog* for good luck. It may have had something to do with his longevity; he did not die until he was in his ninetieth year! He painted often the actors in the Noh theatre, and the more plebeian Kabuki plays. Those flamboyant actors leant themselves to portraiture that easily found buyers. His woodcut "The Great Wave off Kanegawa" (reproduced in Ray's book) has probably been "altered" or used for cartoons, t-shirts, etc., as often as Grant Wood's "American Gothic." Can any of us imagine composing over 30,000 works of art in a lifetime? Hokusai claimed he drew nothing of great note before the age of 70. He called himself *Gakyo Rojin* which translates "old man mad about painting." As mentioned, his 'output' was prodigious. His mother died when he was six years old. She had promised to take him on a pilgrimage to Mt. Fuji, and his fascination for the mountain never waned. Cherry trees bloomed like billowing clouds on the pilgrims' path in his paintings. I would have thought him too busy and/or preoccupied to have a wife but he did, and they had three children. Ray's own illustrations are strong in outline & rich colors and happily complement the text and Hokusai's own sketches from his *MANGA* shown in the book's endpapers - - All are an excellent introduction to Hokusai's art. It is a children's biography well-designed for all ages to learn from and savor. Reviewer mcHAIKU highly recommends Deborah Kogan Ray's book for generational sharing. Even though our language is not represented by 'pictographs' some children might be inspired to make their own penmanship more legible - - even artistic!
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mom's review: Wow!,
By M. Heiss - Published on Amazon.com
Deborah Kogan Ray, the author/illustrator of this book, got it exactly right. Japanese art is iconic and beautiful and very stylized, and the illustrations in this book demonstrate those same qualities.The author includes words in Kanji (Japanese characters) as well as reproductions of Hokusai's changing signatures. The narration of the book is peaceful, restful, perfect for reading out loud. Your young artists will enjoy this biography -- a masterpiece in the text and the art. Brilliant work. |
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