1785
ink
paper
From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
唐子書画図|Chinese Boys Learning to Write and Paint is a 1785 ink by Katsushika Hokusai, a Japonisme work, depicting Writing, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This print shows five boys in a small, cluttered room. One boy holds a scroll, another plays a stringed instrument, and a third sits at a low table with brushes and paper. The walls have a window with a mountain scene, and shelves hold boxes and tools. Everyone wears simple robes—some bright, some plain—and the floor is bare wood. Notice the boy on the right painting a fan with flowers. His careful strokes hint at how artists learned by copying. The room feels busy but calm, like a quiet workshop. Look up cross-hatching next to see how artists build shadows with lines.
Katsushika Hokusai spent his life in Edo, now Tokyo, where he drew and carved prints for a living.
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