「失われた北斎作品」　大英博物館、１０３点を入手

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】大英博物館は3日、葛飾北斎の「失われた作品」とされる103点を入手したと発表した。（写真は大英博物館が入手した葛飾北斎作品。同館提供）
　北斎は、冨嶽三十六景の神奈川沖浪裏などの作品で国際的に高い評価を得ている。
　今回同館が入手したのは、１８２９年に７０歳の北斎が手掛けた未完本の挿絵。１９４８年に競売にかけられた記録が残っており、昨年フランス・パリで再発見されていた。
　日本国外では北斎作品を世界で最も多く所蔵する同館によると、私的な問題が続いた後、創作活動が滞っていた頃の作品で、特に意義深いものだとしている。
　作品群はオンライン閲覧が可能で、将来的には無料展覧会で展示される予定だという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/09/04-15:34）

The British Museum said Thursday it had acquired 103 lost drawings from the 19th century of Japanese artist Hokusai, whose internationally renowned work includes the iconic The Great Wave.
The black-and-white drawings were composed in 1829, when Hokusai was 70, as illustrations for an unpublished book. They resurfaced in Paris in 2019 after they were last publicly recorded at an auction in 1948.
The British Museum, which boasts one of the world's largest Hokusai collections outside Japan, said they were especially significant coming from a period when the artist was thought to be creatively quiet following a series of personal crises.
Their subjects range from the religious and historical to the mythological, and include previously unknown features of Hokusai's oeuvre such as a musing on the origins of human culture in ancient China, the London museum said in a statement.
These works are a major new re-discovery, expanding considerably our knowledge of the artist's activities at a key period in his life and work, honorary research fellow Tim Clark said.
All 103 pieces are treated with the customary fantasy, invention and brush skill found in Hokusai's late works and it is wonderful that they can finally be enjoyed by the many lovers of his art worldwide, he said.
The drawings are available to view online and will feature in a future, free exhibition, the museum said.
Globally, Hokusai is best known for his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, which includes the woodblock print of a giant wave threatening three boats off Japan.