Hokusai’s ‘The Great Wave’

Why It Matters

The print reshaped global visual culture and demonstrates how a single image can bridge East and West, driving artistic movements and collector interest; its documented provenance underscores the cultural and market value attached to canonical works.

Summary

Katsushika Hokusai’s woodblock print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," created around 1830 as part of his 36 Views of Mount Fuji, captures a towering, claw‑like wave poised over three boats with Mount Fuji in the distance. Rendered in vivid Prussian blue, the image became a global icon, profoundly influencing Western artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet. The print’s verso bears faint pencil inscriptions documenting its collectors, including Edmond de Goncourt and Félix Tiquet, tracing its passage through time. Two centuries after its creation, The Great Wave remains a defining visual touchstone that continues to circulate and be reinterpreted.

Original Description

Few images have made waves quite like Hokusai’s ‘Kanagawa oki nami ura’ — better known as ‘The Great Wave’.

A masterpiece of Japanese printmaking, this iconic woodblock print from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji captures the force of nature with extraordinary rhythm, tension and elegance. This impression, from a French private collection, is distinguished by 19th-century provenance.

Presented in the upcoming Art d’Asie sale in Paris, the work appears alongside Chinese works of art, classical and modern paintings, Japanese art and Himalayan sculpture, reflecting the richness and diversity of Asian art.

🔗Discover more via the link in bio.

📅Art d’Asie | Paris | 10 June

Exhibition: 6-9 June 2026

9 Avenue Matignon, Paris, 8e

The exhibition design was entrusted to Ateliers Berger, creators of exceptional sets.