From the 1880s onward, French critics hailed Katsushika Hokusai as Japan’s greatest artist, reflecting a long-standing Parisian fascination with his work. Central to this reception was the Hokusai Manga, a didactic collection of woodblock-printed sketches that functioned as a manual of observation, line, and movement. This article examines how Félicien Rops and artists such as Félix Bracquemond, Alfred Stevens, and Édouard Manet engaged with the Manga as motif, model, and method, treating Hokusai as an unseen yet authoritative master.
Terryn, F. (2025). La Hokusai Manga et l’entourage de Félicien Rops : Félix Bracquemond, Alfred Stevens et Édouard Manet. In Freya Terryn (ed.), Japoniaiseries. Fantaisies japonaises au temps de Félicien Rops (p. p. 34-47). Véronique Carpiaux, Thomas Cleerebaut.