The Wave off Kanagawa Poster

The Great Wave is the best-known work by Japanese artist Hokusai Katsushika, one of the greatest Japanese woodblock printmakers, painters and book illustrators. The Great Wave was created around 1831 as part of a series of woodblock prints called Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The Great Wave of Kanawaga, also known as The Great Wave, is one of the most famous examples of Japanese art in the world. The energetic and imposing picture The Great Wave was created around 1831 as part of a series of woodblock prints called Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The most eye-catching feature of the painting is the extended wave as it is about to break with the crash of its claw-like crest. The beautiful dark blue pigment used by Hokusai, called Prussian Blue, was a new material at the time. The wave is about to strike the boats as if it were an enormous monster, one which seems to symbolise the irresistible force of nature and the weakness of human beings. The print is one of the most reproduced and most instantly recognised artworks in the world.