Dynamic Painting (The Great Wave off Kanagawa)

The Great Wave off Kanagawa is to Japan what Van Gogh’s Starry Night is to Westerners. In fact, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Claude Debussy all point to it as a great influence to their own art. It’s a woodblock print by Japanese artist Hokusai, made in 1831 during Japan’s Edo period.

The print is of a huge wave cresting over Mount Fuji in the distance, with three fishing boats under it to demonstrate the wave’s enormity. While it looks simple to the casual viewer, the skill, technique, color patterns, and revolutionary depiction of depth and movement of the print has inspired generations of interpretation. Some see it as symbolic of the changes that were happening in Japanese society at the time, contrasting the uncertainty of the sea and the steadiness of Mount Fuji. Others see it as symbolic of life’s journey and the never-ending process of confronting challenges. Others see it as a reflection of nature’s power or of the frailty of human life. It has been called perhaps the most reproduced piece of art in human history.