Whaling off the Goto Island - from the series Oceans of Wisdom

Date: 19th century
Medium: coloured woodcut

The painting is a stylized scene depicting a huge wave in clear blue water with white foam particles. Two large fish swim near the surface of the water. Boats can be seen below the waves, lined up in diagonal lines. A hill is shown in the background with a Japanese torii shrine at the top and thick golden leaves on the trees. Overall, the painting has vintage tones and an aesthetic typical of Japanese woodblock prints.

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Hokusai painted picture Whaling off the Goto Island - from the series Oceans of Wisdom in 19th century. Prevailing color of this fine art print is blue and its shape is landscape. This image is printed on demand - you can choose material, size and finishing.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). The Japanese artist, painter of ukiyo-e (pictures of the fleeting world) and illustrator known today mainly for his series 36 Views of Mount Fuji. He was born in Edo (now Tokyo). His most used technique was woodcut, which he subsequently transferred using colours onto paper or silk. The technique originated in the 8th century in China, and in the 17th century, it began to spread to Japan. Using this technique, officials, the life of upper classes, cities, travels, etc. were captured. The most famous representative of this series is a painting titled the Great wave of Kanagawa. This xylograph was printed in approximately 5000 copies (therefore, there are different versions of the image). The image does not capture a tsunami, but rather okinami - literally translated, a folded wave on the open sea. Hokusai studied Japanese, Chinese, French and Dutch artwork and developed a distinctive style, which broke through the traditional and preconceived notions of what was then a Japanese painting. His work has had a global impact, and especially affected Impressionists.