The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏), is a famous woodcut by Japanese master Katsushiha Hokusai.
Published in the Edo period (1830), it is a masterpiece that belongs to a series of woodcuts called “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji”, having the same theme with views of Mount Fuji and is the artist’s best-known work, also the most famous of its kind, as well as one of the best-known images in the world.
This print shows a huge wave that threatens fishing boats in Kanagawa Prefecture, with Mount Fuji visible in the background.
This painting became very famous in the 19th century. So many artists from elsewhere ended up buying a copy. Today, in many of the world’s greatest museums, it is possible to see a copy of the woodcut, such as in the British Museum, National Library of France and the Museum of New York.
His works influenced other great artists such as Van Gogh and Claudet Manet making him a world-renowned artist.
This famous artist responsible for this work, which is perhaps the most famous in the West when referring to Japan, was Katsushika Hokusai. He is believed to have been born in Tokyo in 1760 and died in the same city in 1849, aged 89.
