This 4-colours pen BIC (Blue, Black, Red, Green) has been edited for the exhibition "Manga. An art of its own!" at the Guimet Museum from 19th November 2025 to 9th March 2026.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa (detail), 1830-1832
Paris - Guimet-Musée national des arts asiatiques
©Photo GrandPalaisRmn - musée Guimet (Paris)/ H. Bréjat
©GrandPalaisRmnCréations, Paris 2025
Further reading on the work
The Work and Its Artist
"Under the Wave off Kanagawa" (The Great Wave) is a woodblock print from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, created between 1830 and 1832. This composition captures a dramatic moment: a massive wave, whose foam resembles claws ready to seize the fragile fishing boats tossed about by the waves, dominates the scene. In the background, Mount Fuji appears tiny, its whiteness echoing that of the waves.
Here, Hokusai uses Prussian blue, a pigment imported from the West, and incorporates Western perspective to create a striking sense of depth. This iconic work exerted a decisive influence on the Japonism movement and European Impressionist artists.
