Analysis of The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai is a famous woodcut print that is commonly referred to as The Great Wave. Hokusai Katsushika was one of the greatest Japanese printmakers of the 19th century. The print, The Great Wave, is a part of a 36-piece series of the views of Japan’s most famous mountain; Mount Fuji. Hokusai’s series was very popular and sold rather quickly. Due to its popularity, Hokusai decided to extend the series to 46 pieces. The original piece was created around 1830 and was published in 1832 by Nishimuraya Yohachi. Within this paper, I will be discussing the analysis of this print while connecting my findings to the elements and principles of design. The lines within this print are dynamic and static. Dynamic lines are lines that flow smoothly, they are appealing to the viewer’s eyes and our eyes automatically follow these lines. The dynamic lines within this print are the curved lines leading up to the wave. Another dynamic line would be the shape of the boats, they are curved as well. Our eyes like this smooth, curved line, which leads us to the top of the wave. The top of the wave has static lines, they are choppy and jagged. Another category of line is visual and implied; Visual lines are the lines we can plainly see, a visual line would be the plain line of the boats against the water. We know the line is the edge of the boat, we can see this line because the ocean contrasts with this line. Even if the boat was by itself, we could still see this line. The implied lines are lines that are not visually there, but our mind knows that there is essentially a line there. An example would be in the sky of the print, the values create a hazed line going from darkest to lightest. Shape is another element of design, shapes can be either organic or geometric. Organic shapes are natural, a prime example would be nature. The shape of the waves are organic, the artist added his own style of how the wave looks, but the organic shape of the wave we can

Cited: Getlein, Mark. Living With Art. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2013. Print. ”The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai." Artelino.com. Artelino, Apr. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Jirousek, Charlotte. "Introduction to the Elements of Design." Char.txa.cornell.edu. Cornell Educaton, 1995. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Jirousek, Charlotte. "Introduction to the Principles of Design." Char.txa.cornell.edu. Cornell Educaton, 1995. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.