Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849)
Nationality | Japanese |
Where Artist Lived | Edo, Japan |
Associated Movements | Ukiyo-e |
Famous Artworks | The Great Wave Off Kanagawa (1829) Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (1830) A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces (1832) |
Katsushika Hokusai was born on the 31st of October, 1760, and was famous for transforming a style that was largely focused on actors, courtesans, and beautiful women by broadening the subject matter and introducing works that included plants, animals, and landscapes. Out of the majority of Japanese artists, Hokusai was the most internationally renowned Japanese artist, largely due to The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, which is considered an iconic masterpiece in Japanese art history.
- portrait of Katsushika Hokusai at the age of 83; Public Domain, Link
Hokusai was said to have used over 30 various aliases, through which he created Japanese paintings and other styles such as woodblock printing. His most important contribution to Japanese art was created after he had turned 60 and includes his depiction of the holy mountain throughout the seasons, known as the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (1829-1833).
- The Great Wave Off Kanagawa (1829)
Date | 1892 |
Medium | Woodblock print |
Dimensions (cm) | 25.7 x 37.8 |
Where It Is Housed | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States |
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa is known as the most recognizable Japanese painting in the world and is Hokusai’s most well-known artwork. It was published around 1892 as the first print from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. The painting depicts a huge threatening wave that towers above three small fishing vessels in Sagami Bay, with Mount Fuji in the distant background.
The size of the wave has led some to assume that the painting depicts a tsunami, while others suggest that it was more likely a representation of an enormous rogue wave.
Following a period of isolation from the West, Japanese art styles were exported to Europe, where they were quickly adopted and recognized as a period called Japonism. This particular piece was renowned for its impact on European art culture, with artists such as Vincent van Gogh, a huge admirer of Hokusai’s work, praising the quality of line in the Japanese drawing, stating that the visual had an impact that could be described as “emotionally terrifying”.
- The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1829) from 36 Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai. Although it is often used in tsunami literature, there is no reason to suspect that Hokusai intended it to be interpreted in that way. The waves in this work are sometimes mistakenly referred to as tsunami, but they are more accurately called okinami, being great off-shore waves; After Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
