Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

This rare pairing of a printer’s proof with a finished print offers a glimpse into the collaborative nature of the woodblock printing process. Upon receiving a design sketch from the artist-in this case Hokusai-the carver would paste it onto a woodblock and cut into it. As a result, few original sketches survive today. A monochrome proof like this one was printed from the carved block and returned to the artist for instructions and edits. The annotations on this proof’s right side, which specify color preference, were added to advance the process.

Given the compositional differences between these two works, it is unclear whether the print eventually evolved from this specific proof. Nevertheless, the record of the collaborative interaction between artist, carver, and printer remains noteworthy. [see also 34.500].

This drawing resembles the Hokusai print to the left, although it is not the artist's original design for that work. Since it is inscribed with color notations, it also indicates how a sketch could be used by the publisher and block cutter in the print production process.