Waves in 19th Century Art: Hokusai
You’ve pr obably seen images of Hokusai’s “The Great Wave” on T-shirts, phone cases, cups, and so on. There’s even an emoji based on this highly popular Japanese print. So, why are so many people inspired by this painting? The Great Wave off Kanagawa. 1831. Hokusai Hokusai created his most famous print, “ Under the Wave off Kanagawa ” or “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” in 1831. It’s a woodblock print that belongs to the genre ukiyo-e, popular in Japan from the 17 th to the 19 th centuries. Ukiyo-e prints vary in subject matter – they portray scenes from daily life, featuring actors, wrestlers, and beauties, but they can also show landscapes, as well as scenes from novels, legends, or history. In Japanese, ukiyo-e means “pictures of the floating (transient) world”. Prints from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai “The Great Wave off Katagawa” is part of Hokusai’s series ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’. As the name suggests, all 36 prints show various lands...