The Influence of The Great Wave

About a lifetime of artistic effort and one piece of art that continues to delight and inspire people all over the world

Few pieces of art are as memorable for me as The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai. What I didn’t know until recently was how much I would also be inspired by the life story of Hokusai.

As a kid, I loved the depiction of the drama of that crashing wave. The fury of ocean waves still captivate me and now as an adult, revisiting The Great Wave, my eye is still held captive by that great wave. Studying the work, the elements of the piece converge becoming a story of power, resistance, and human struggle.

Boats tossed about by the power of a merciless ocean, men doubled over, struggling, surviving, the claws of the wave edges, Mt Fuji dwarfed by the great cresting wave, all come together powerfully.

Hokusai's use of color, line, and composition in "The Great Wave" with the striking Prussian blue pigment, then new to Japan, adds depth and intensity, evoking a sense of awe and terror.

The curling, claw-like lines of the wave create a dynamic sense of movement and energy, while the asymmetrical composition, with Mount Fuji off-center in the background, adds to the feeling of imbalance and instability.

The small boats and human figures are dwarfed by the massive wave, emphasizing the insignificance of human existence in the face of nature's power.

The Great Wave" can be seen as a reflection of the Japanese perspective on the relationship between humans and nature during the Edo period. Serving as a reminder of the insignificance of human existence in the face of nature's power and the need for humility and respect in our interactions with the natural world. At the same time, the print celebrates the courage and resilience of humanity, as the fishermen lean into their work against treacherous waters.

This piece and many others by Japanese artists circulated around the globe in the 1860s, where many artists in Europe were strongly influenced by the use of color, choice of subject, compositional strength and visual impact.

It’s not hard to see the influence between Hokusai’s The Great Wave and Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.

Other notable artists inspired by Japanese woodblock prints include:

• Édouard Manet - painter among the first Western artists to collect and study Japanese prints, influenced by the use of color and composition

• Vincent van Gogh - deeply influenced by the bold colors, flat planes, and compositions of Japanese prints

• Claude Monet - influenced by asymmetrical compositions and a focus on nature

• Edgar Degas - painter, sculptor, and printmaker inspired by the unusual perspectives and cropping techniques

• Mary Cassatt - American Impressionist painter and printmaker influenced by the elegant lines and intimate human scenes

• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - French painter and printmaker inspired by the flat colors, bold lines, and compositions

• Paul Gauguin - French Post-Impressionist artist drawn to the exoticism and spirituality of Japanese art

The arc of Katsushika Hokusai’s artistic life is as interesing as his most revered works.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a renowned Japanese artist and ukiyo-e painter of the Edo period. Born in present-day Tokyo, Hokusai began his artistic career at a young age and continued to create art until his death at 89.

The Ukiyo-e Movement Hokusai's work is associated with a focus on depicting the transient nature of life, including landscapes, scenes from everyday life, kabuki actors, and sumo wrestlers. This artistic movement flourished in Japan from the 17th to the 19th century, with Hokusai being one of its most prominent practitioners.

Hokusai is quoted as saying shortly before his death at 89 years of age:

From the age of six, I had a passion for copying the form of things and since the age of fifty I have published many drawings, yet of all I drew by my seventieth year there is nothing worth taking into account. At seventy-three years I partly understood the structure of animals, birds, insects and fishes, and the life of grasses and plants. And so, at eighty-six I shall progress further; at ninety I shall even further penetrate their secret meaning, and by one hundred I shall perhaps truly have reached the level of the marvellous and divine. When I am one hundred and ten, each dot, each line will possess a life of its own.

How wonderful to consider such commitment to craft and artistic expression that by age 70, having produced from a young age countless drawings, and having had a full career, he understood himself to be just beginning his full potential as an artist.

And at 86, he remained committed to progressing and working and creating to create meaningful work.

The Great Wave was but one piece in a series entitled Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.

How often is it that one particular great piece of art captures such attention to make its origins forgotten and ignored? The Great Wave is such a piece.

But the origins are fascinating too. The series was begun during a difficult period of time for the artist in his 60s. Suffering from the death of his wife and dealing with financial burdens from a grandchild he had aided, a creative study of Mt Fuji was begun.

Katsushika Hokusai was both teacher and master of his craft. He published a guide to drawing entitled Quick Lessons in Simplified Drawing. Additionally, over the course of his life and just after his death a total of 15 volumes of his drawings were published to great acclaim within Japan, his first volume being a best seller.

A lifetime of drawing, teaching, and publishing laid a foundation that made Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and The Great Wave possible.

And he continued to draw, create, publish and teach until his passing at the age of 89.

I’ve included below a few of my own wave photographs.

I do wonder about my own artistic work as I continue to develop my craft and vision over the coming decades.

Go here to see more of my Big Sur wave photography.