Artwork
Hokusai
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
1830-1831
Dimensions
1.25" x 2"
3.5 cm x 5.5 cm
About The Great Wave off Kanagawa
The Great Wave off Kanagawa is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. It is part of Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series that secured his fame both in Japan and overseas.
The mountain with a snow-capped peak is Mount Fuji, which in Japan is considered sacred and a symbol of national identity.
Sometimes assumed to be a tsunami, the wave is more likely to be a large rogue wave. It is about to strike three boats, symbolizing the force of nature and the weakness of human beings.
About Hokusai
Hokusai's work transformed the ukiyo-e artform from a style of portraiture largely focused on courtesans and actors into a much broader style of art that focused on landscapes, plants, and animals. Over his career, Hokusai used more than 30 different names, always beginning a new cycle of works by changing it, and letting his students use the previous name.
