Thunder god

Object Details

• Artist

  Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849)

• Label

  In the upper right portion of this painting is the Thunder God, who beats the drums carried on his back during storms. Japanese painters enjoyed depicting this deity among rolling clouds and sparks of lightning. Hokusai's painting reflects his virtuosity in capturing the latent energy of the deity as he hovers among black clouds splattered with ink to express the violence of the storm.

  A phenomenally prolific artist, Hokusai produced sketches, paintings, prints, and the illustrations for more than two hundred woodblock-printed books during his lifetime. This work, which gives his age as 88 (by Western calculation, 87), displays the skill and energy that he retained even in the last years of his life.

• Provenance

  To 1900

  Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (1853-1908), Japan, to 1900 [1]

  From 1900 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Ernest Francisco Fenollosa, through Edward S. Hull Jr., New York, in 1900 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Kakemono List, L. 203, pg. 44, as well as Voucher No. 47, June 1900, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Edward S. Hull Jr. was Ernest Francisco Fenollosa’s (1853-1908) lawyer. Hull often acted as an agent, facilitating purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa, as well as purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa's

  well-known associate, Bunshichi Kobayashi (see correspondence, Hull to Freer, 1898-1900, as well as invoices from E.S. Hull Jr., 1898-1900, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives). See also, Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), pgs. 15 and 34. See further, Thomas Lawton and Linda Merrill, Freer: A Legacy of Art, (Washington, DC and New York: Freer Gallery of Art and H. N. Abrams, 1993), pgs. 133-134.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Hokusai: Mad About Painting (November 20, 2019 to January 9, 2022)

  Hokusai: Paintings and Drawings (January 28, 2012 to June 24, 2012)

  Seasons: Arts of Japan (February 5, 2011 to January 13, 2013)

  Japanese Arts in the Edo Period: 1615-1868, part 2 (March 8 to October 19, 2008)

  Hokusai (October 25, 2005 to May 14, 2006)

  Surveying the Collections: Poets and Parties (July 2, 2000 to February 4, 2001)

  Japanese Prints (January 18, 1980 to May 18, 1980)

  Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)

  Hokusai Bicentennial Exhibition (March 30, 1960 to August 16, 1961)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (1853-1908) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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• Date

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• Name

  Fenollosa, Ernest Francisco, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Ukiyo-e, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings