The Endless Iterations of Hokusai’s Iconic “Great Wave”
The work of the legendary 18th and 19th-century Japanese artist Hokusai is most famously represented by his masterpiece, 神奈川沖浪裏, commonly known in English as The Great Wave off Kanagawa. This title may suggest a singular expression of the iconic wave, but in reality, Hokusai’s creation took on various forms, each with its own unique characteristics and history.
“There’s not just one impression of the Great Wave, as many people think. There were originally thousands of them,” explains scientist Capucine Korenberg in a video from the British Museum. During the mid-19th century, Japanese prints, including the Great Wave, were mass-produced and widely accessible. The demand for this particular image was so high that at least 8,000 prints were estimated to have been sold before the woodblocks became too worn out for further use.
It’s fascinating to note that the Great Wave went through several iterations over four decades before reaching the form we recognize today. The subtle differences in strokes and details among the prints indicate their chronological order and reveal Hokusai’s evolving artistic vision. Even renowned printmaker David Bull observed distinct variations in the strokes of different Great Wave prints, shedding light on the complex process of printmaking.
Uncovering the history and origins of these prints proved to be a challenging task for researchers like Capucine Korenberg. Factors such as ink application, block replacement, and artistic modifications all contributed to the uniqueness of each print. Through meticulous examination, she confirmed the existence of 113 identified prints, highlighting the intricacies of the woodblock print industry during that period.
Related Content:
- An Introduction to Hokusai’s Great Wave: One of the Most Recognizable Artworks in the World
- The Evolution of The Great Wave off Kanagawa: See Four Versions That Hokusai Painted Over Nearly 40 Years
- Watch the Making of Japanese Woodblock Prints, from Start to Finish, by a Longtime Tokyo Printmaker
- Watch a Master Japanese Printmaker at Work: Two Unintentionally Relaxing ASMR Videos
- A Collection of Hokusai’s Drawings Are Being Carved Onto Woodblocks & Printed for the First Time Ever
- Watch Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa Get Entirely Recreated with 50,000 LEGO Bricks
Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. His projects include the Substack newsletter Books on Cities and the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.
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