“Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji:” The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa

Artist	KATSUSHIKA, Hokusai　葛飾北斎　1760-1849
Title	“Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji:” The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa
Date	c.1831
Material/ Technique	polychrome print
Size (cm)	25.4×38.1 (sheet)

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KATSUSHIKA, Hokusai

	1760-1849
Biography	Ukiyo-e artist. Disciple of Shunsho Katsukawa. From around 1778, used the name Shunro Katsukawa, and began publishing multicolored prints. Withdrew from the Katsukawa school, and developed his own creative activity. Demonstrated his fertile creativity in various mediums, including prints such as bijin-ga (beauty), fuzoku-ga (manners and customs), yakusha-e (actors) and meisho-e (famous places), while also creating kyoka-ehon (illustrated books with humorous poems) and novel illustrations. His novel illustrations gave a strong impact on readers with his dynamic compositions, and vibrant, powerful depictions, such as those in the light-fiction writer Bakin Kyokutei’s book, “An Illustrated New Edition of the Water Margin.” His ukiyo-e prints include such masterpieces as “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji,” which merged a rational spatial structure with a composition filled with a sense of movement and tension, which he had mastered through working on novel illustrations. His later years were devoted to creating nikuhitsu-ga paintings.

1760-1849

Biography

Ukiyo-e artist. Disciple of Shunsho Katsukawa. From around 1778, used the name Shunro Katsukawa, and began publishing multicolored prints. Withdrew from the Katsukawa school, and developed his own creative activity. Demonstrated his fertile creativity in various mediums, including prints such as bijin-ga (beauty), fuzoku-ga (manners and customs), yakusha-e (actors) and meisho-e (famous places), while also creating kyoka-ehon (illustrated books with humorous poems) and novel illustrations. His novel illustrations gave a strong impact on readers with his dynamic compositions, and vibrant, powerful depictions, such as those in the light-fiction writer Bakin Kyokutei’s book, “An Illustrated New Edition of the Water Margin.” His ukiyo-e prints include such masterpieces as “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji,” which merged a rational spatial structure with a composition filled with a sense of movement and tension, which he had mastered through working on novel illustrations. His later years were devoted to creating nikuhitsu-ga paintings.

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“Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji:” The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa