{"product_id":"katsushika-hokusai-japanese-fine-art-print-great-wave-off-kanagawa","title":"36 Views of Mount Fuji, Great Wave off Kanagawa, Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese Print","description":"\u003ch2\u003eKatsushika Hokusai – The Great Wave off Kanagawa Prints\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDiscover one of the most celebrated images in the history of Japanese art with a \u003cstrong\u003eKatsushika Hokusai Great Wave off Kanagawa print\u003c\/strong\u003e. Created around 1830–32, \u003cem\u003eUnder the Wave off Kanagawa\u003c\/em\u003e – better known simply as \u003cem\u003eThe Great Wave\u003c\/em\u003e – combines an immense breaking wave, three vulnerable boats and the distant form of Mount Fuji in a composition of extraordinary energy and precision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePart of Hokusai's landmark \u003cem\u003eThirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji\u003c\/em\u003e series, the design has become an international symbol of Japanese ukiyo-e. Available from GalleryThane as fine art prints, framed prints and canvas panels, it remains as visually powerful in a contemporary interior as it was revolutionary when first published in Edo-period Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eUnder the Wave off Kanagawa\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original Japanese title, \u003cem\u003eKanagawa-oki nami ura\u003c\/em\u003e, is usually translated as \u003cem\u003eUnder the Wave off Kanagawa\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThree fast cargo boats are shown crossing turbulent water while a monumental wave rises above them. The fishermen crouch low within their vessels as the crest begins to curl and break.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFar beyond the immediate danger sits Mount Fuji. Hokusai's manipulation of perspective makes Japan's highest mountain appear surprisingly small, positioned beneath the hollow formed by the enormous wave.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe contrast is fundamental to the image. The wave is temporary, unstable and violent; Fuji is distant, still and enduring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePainting Style and Composition\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Geometry of The Great Wave\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDespite its apparent spontaneity, \u003cem\u003eThe Great Wave\u003c\/em\u003e is an exceptionally controlled design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe curving wave creates a great arc above the boats, while the smaller swell beneath them echoes the slopes of Mount Fuji. The boats themselves form long sweeping curves that direct the viewer's attention towards the distant mountain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEven the foaming tips of the wave contribute to the tension. They divide into claw-like fragments that seem to reach down towards the fishermen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHokusai therefore creates movement not through blurred or imprecise forms but through extremely clear lines and repeated curves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eMount Fuji – Small but Essential\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough Fuji occupies only a tiny part of the image, it is the reason the print belongs to \u003cem\u003eThirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHokusai repeatedly experimented with the apparent scale of the mountain throughout the series. Sometimes Fuji fills the composition; elsewhere it is reduced to a distant triangle glimpsed between people, buildings or natural forms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Great Wave\u003c\/em\u003e, the mountain's small scale makes the foreground sea appear even more immense while its stillness provides the perfect visual counterpoint to the breaking water.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003ePrussian Blue and Japanese Woodblock Printing\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBlue is one of the defining visual features of the print.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHokusai created the design at a time when imported **Prussian blue** had become increasingly available to Japanese print publishers. The intense synthetic pigment offered deeper and more durable blue tones than many traditional alternatives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Great Wave\u003c\/em\u003e, layers of blue distinguish different parts of the sea while dark blue outlines contribute to the graphic force of the composition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe result helped make blue one of the colours most strongly associated with Hokusai's landscape prints.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eA Masterpiece of Ukiyo-e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Great Wave off Kanagawa\u003c\/em\u003e is a colour woodblock print rather than a painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHokusai designed the image, but Edo-period woodblock printing was collaborative. Specialist block cutters transferred the design to carved wooden blocks and professional printers applied individual colours before the finished sheets were published for sale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis combination of artistic design and highly skilled craftsmanship allowed the image to circulate in multiple impressions rather than existing as a single unique painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Great Wave Wall Art for Modern Interiors\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA \u003cstrong\u003eHokusai Great Wave wall art print\u003c\/strong\u003e works particularly well in interiors where a strong focal image is required.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe deep blues complement white, putty, pale grey, navy and natural timber, making the design especially suitable for Scandinavian, minimalist, contemporary and Japanese-inspired rooms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIts horizontal composition makes it effective above a sofa, bed, console table or sideboard, while the combination of blue and neutral tones allows it to introduce visual drama without becoming difficult to coordinate with existing furnishings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Katsushika Hokusai\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKatsushika Hokusai\u003c\/strong\u003e (1760–1849) was a Japanese artist, print designer, painter and illustrator whose career extended across more than seven decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBorn in Edo, present-day Tokyo, Hokusai became one of the great innovators of ukiyo-e. Although his enormous body of work included figures, mythology, animals, flowers and illustrated books, he played a particularly important role in establishing landscape as a major subject for Japanese colour woodblock prints.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHokusai continually reinvented his artistic identity and adopted numerous names during his lifetime. His intense interest in drawing and observation continued into old age, producing some of his most ambitious work when he was already in his seventies and eighties.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji\u003c\/em\u003e, created during this mature period, contains many of the works for which he is best known today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently Asked Questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhen did Hokusai create The Great Wave?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Great Wave off Kanagawa\u003c\/em\u003e is generally dated to around 1830–32.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eIs The Great Wave a painting?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. The original image was designed as a colour woodblock print using ink and colour on paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat is the original name of The Great Wave?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Japanese title is \u003cem\u003eKanagawa-oki nami ura\u003c\/em\u003e, commonly translated as \u003cem\u003eUnder the Wave off Kanagawa\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eIs Mount Fuji visible in The Great Wave?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes. Mount Fuji appears as the small snow-covered triangular form in the distance beneath the curling wave.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat series does The Great Wave belong to?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt belongs to Hokusai's celebrated \u003cem\u003eThirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji\u003c\/em\u003e series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy is The Great Wave blue?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe design makes important use of Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment that had become newly available to Japanese printmakers during the early nineteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat interiors suit a Great Wave print?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts strong blue palette and graphic composition work particularly well with contemporary, Scandinavian, coastal, minimalist and Japanese-inspired interiors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Japanese Prints","offers":[{"title":"8x12 inches \/ Black Frame White 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