Primary sourcePainting1839

Watermelon

Katsushika Hokusai · 1839

A 1839 hanging-scroll painting by Hokusai of a sliced watermelon, made when he was about eighty years old.

A late still-life painting showing Hokusai's refined skill in his final decade of life.

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Hanging scroll painting of a sliced watermelon on a dark plate with a knife resting on it, with strings of dried gourd ribbon hanging above against a pale yellow-beige background, and a red artist's seal at lower right. — Katsushika Hokusai, Watermelon, 1839. Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru-Shōzōkan.

About this source

What it is

This hanging scroll painting by Katsushika Hokusai, dated 1839, is held by the Museum of the Imperial Collections. It shows a sliced watermelon on a dark plate with a knife, with dried gourd ribbons hanging above.

Why it matters

Painted when Hokusai was around eighty years old, this still life shows his continuing skill and refinement late in life, long after his famous ukiyo-e prints. It reveals how he kept developing his art and attention to detail into old age, working in a more intimate and realistic style than his popular woodblock prints.

Look closer

What details make the watermelon and knife look realistic?
Why might an artist choose such a simple, everyday subject?
How does this quiet painting compare to Hokusai's famous dramatic prints?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hokusai on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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