Hokusai - The Great Wave off Kanagawa

Japanese painter, ukiyo-e specialist and engraver, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) influenced many European artists, in particular Gauguin, Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
This print is Hokusai's best-known work and the first in his series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji", in which the use of Prussian blue renewed the language of Japanese printmaking. The graceful snow-capped mountain stands imperturbably against the deep blue of the horizon. Yet it is reduced to a small mound compared to the dominating force of the wave that threatens to engulf the boats. Such manipulation of composition is typical of many of Hokusai's works. This print brought him immediate success in Japan and then in Europe.