Hokusai's genre scenes, bijin-ga (beautiful women), and miscellaneous subjects represent the breadth of his career across more than seven decades. The market for non-landscape Hokusai prints has strengthened as collectors seek beyond the most famous designs.
Two women and a child stand beside a large decorative goldfish tank, watching the fish circle within the glass or lacquer basin in this color woodblock print from around 1800. Goldfish keeping was a fashionable hobby among affluent Edo families, and the round tank with its vivid orange-and-white fish would have been a household treasure — the child's rapt attention to the swirling fish suggesting the same delight that animated Hokusai's own interest in the natural world.
1821
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
c. 1832
Color woodblock print; oban
Two Women and a Child Beside a Goldfish Tank was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in c. 1800.
Two Women and a Child Beside a Goldfish Tank depicts fish, children, and animals.
Two Women and a Child Beside a Goldfish Tank measures 51.4 × 19.8 cm (Oban format).
