Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)
c. 1830–1832 · Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and colour on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849)
- Year
- c. 1830–1832
- Medium
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and colour on paper
- Original size
- 25.7 × 37.9 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (impression JP1847; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
A towering wave curls over three fishing boats off the coast of Kanagawa, its crest breaking into claw-like fingers of foam, while Mount Fuji sits small and calm in the distance beneath the trough. Hokusai designed it around 1830 to 1832 as the opening print of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, published by Nishimuraya Yohachi. The deep blue is Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment newly imported from Europe, and the low viewpoint owes something to Western perspective prints Hokusai had studied. The woodblocks produced several thousand impressions, and copies are held by museums around the world; the one reproduced here is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is the most recognised work of Japanese art.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
The only Japanese print most guests recognise on sight, so give it a living room or hallway wall where it can be seen across the room, at 24×16 in natural wood. Pair it with Red Fuji as the series' two best-known images.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (c. 1830–1832)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Palette
- cornflower blue
- Mood
- dramatic, moody
- Rooms
- living room, hallway or entryway, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, travelers, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×16. Prints at 18×12, 24×16 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — natural wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave) in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave) painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
The full-bleed edition
The painting printed edge to edge, filling the whole sheet (very slightly cropped to fit).
