Katsushika Hokusai

(1760 - 1849)

At the age of eighteen, Katsushika Hokusai became apprentice to the leading master of ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”). Famous for his illustrations and prints, among them “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” he also enjoyed making art in public, executing 2,000 square-foot paintings at festivals in Edo and Nagoya.