“From the time that I was 6 years old I had the mania of drawing the form of objects. As I came to be 50 I had published an infinity of designs; but all that I have produced before the age of 70 is not worth being counted. It is at the age of 73 that I have somewhat begun to understand the structure of true nature, of animals and grasses, and trees and birds, and fishes and insects; consequently at 80 years of age I shall have made still more progress; at 90 I hope to have penetrated into the mystery of things; at 100 years of age I should have reached decidedly a marvelous degree, and when I shall be 110, all that I do, every point and every line, shall be instinct with life — and I ask all those who shall live as long as I do to see if I have not kept my word.”
A friend in Paris told me there is a large show at the Grand Palais of Hokusai's work which is up till January. This quote (above) of his came from a NYTimes article from this morning which celebrates the work of artists who do not retire but flourish in their golden years. I admire the work of Hokusai but I really love Hiroshige.
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