Fuji in a Window (SōchÅ« no Fuji): Detached page from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei) Vol. 2 Possibly 1835 - 1836

Curator: Here we have Katsushika Hokusai's "Fuji in a Window" from his series "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji," currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels like a playful peek into someone's daily life, filtered through the sheer majesty of Mount Fuji. Curator: The work is a woodblock print, part of a larger tradition of landscape prints that were increasingly popular with a broader public during Hokusai’s time. Editor: It's like he’s winking at us, showing us both the mundane and the magnificent in the same breath. The broom hanging there—so domestic—compared to that iconic mountain. Curator: Exactly. The print reflects the social context where the accessibility of art became more democratized. Editor: Art for the people, indeed! I think Hokusai is asking us to reflect on how we balance the ordinary with the extraordinary in our own lives. It gives you something to aspire to, right?