103 Hokusai drawings acquired by the British Museum

The British Museum recently acquired a Series of 103 Preparatory drawings by Hokusai for an illustrated book titled: Banbutsu ehon taizen zu 万物絵本大全図 (Great Picture Book of Everything).

These drawings were produced in 1829. This was a difficult time for Hokusai. As indicated in the Curator's comments, Hokusai suffered a stroke in 1827 or 1828, and his second wife died in 1828;

The Picture Book of Everything was never published and this is why we still have these drawings today. The process of engraving Ukiyo-e (Woodblock print) involves sticking the block-ready drawings onto the cherry-wood printing blocks before cutting it. The drawing is destroyed in the process.

Great Picture Book of Everything, were owned Henri by Vever (a French Art Nouveau jeweller). The works were then sold at auction in Paris in 1948 and had been in private collection ever since. They were auctioned again in June 2019 and the British Museum acquired them.

 

Preparatory drawing (hanshita-e) for an illustrated book, mounted on card. Two cranes and two turtles climbing on lotus leaves. Ink on paper by Katsushika Hokusai (1829).© The Trustees of the British Museum – Used under (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

 

Preparatory drawing (hanshita-e) for an illustrated book, mounted on card. Wu Zixu holding up a bronze vessel weighing 1,000 catties. Ink on paper by Katsushika Hokusai (1829).- © The Trustees of the British Museum – Used under (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

Preparatory drawing (hanshita-e) for an illustrated book, mounted on card. Ke Dao, Cai Lun, Li Chao and his son Ting Zhi engaged in tasks associated with publishing (carving woodblocks, making paper). Ink on paper by Katsushika Hokusai (1829).© The Trustees of the British Museum – Used under (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license

You can see these works on site of the online collection of the British Museum 

Make sure you read the Curator's comments which are well written. For each entry, you can also read a translation of the text on the drawing.

Another remarkable feature is that you can zoom in and see the fine details of each drawing.