Katsushika Hokusai
The changing world is revealed through series, line and scale relationships.
Key ideas
Hokusai worked with painting, drawing and printing. In a series of views of Fuji, one recognizable motif becomes part of different scenes of labor, weather and travel. “The Big Wave” builds on the tension between a huge wave, the boats, and a distant mountain.
Looking deeper
The engraving was created jointly with carvers, printers and a publisher. Different prints may differ in preservation and color. Hokusai's European fame is only part of his story; it is important to consider the urban audience and artistic environment of Japan.
"The Great Wave off Kanagawa"; "South wind. Clear day."
Find the work in the museum's official catalog and start with a description of the visible details.Compare the shape of a wave and a mountain: what unites them despite the difference in scale?
External educational material or museum catalogue. The above review is not a literal translation of the source.