
The 'Great Wave' has mystified art lovers for generations (2019) - Tomte
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/hokusai-great-wave-ukiyo-e-woodblock/index.html
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keiferski
A few months ago, I discovered that the sketchbook of Hokusai (the artist of
the Great Wave) is available online. There are thousands of images and they're
pretty fascinating to browse through.

[http://pulverer.si.edu/node/663/title](http://pulverer.si.edu/node/663/title)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokusai_Manga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokusai_Manga)

~~~
claudeganon
The Smithsonian has some of the volumes at better resolution and with a PDF
export:

[https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/hokusai-
manga](https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/hokusai-manga)

In addition to works by many other great works by artists of the Edo and Meiji
periods:

[https://library.si.edu/digital-
library/collection/japanese-i...](https://library.si.edu/digital-
library/collection/japanese-illustrated-books)

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fegu
"[] the rich shade of blue used in the prints was imported from Europe.
Prussian blue, as it's commonly known, was a synthetic color created in the
18th century and prized for its depth and durability. That Hokusai employed
the hue as the principal actor in his oceanic drama suggests that he was
depicting Japan on the cusp of change."

Or he just liked this new blue colour that was now available, he needed blue
for his waves, and we shouldn't read more into it than that.

"As much as the wave portends instability and danger, it also suggests
possibility and adventure."

To some viewers, perhaps. But the wording makes it sound like this was the
original artist's idea - and of this we have no idea.

~~~
keiferski
The color mentioned, Prussian blue, has a particular history with regards to
Japanese art. Remember that at the time, imports were banned in Japan and thus
to even own the color was something of a rarity. Based on the contemporary
situation and his own history and interest in Western culture and art, it's
pretty likely that Hokusai chose the color deliberately, and not simply that
he liked blue "because he wanted it for the waves." Remember that he was
nearly 70 years old when he started working on _Thirty-six Views of Mount
Fuji._ Typically artists at that level of experience don't choose to use rare
new materials just for kicks.

 _Hokusai was one of the first Japanese printmakers to boldly embrace the
colour, a decision that would have major implications in the world of art.
Using it extensively in his series Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji (1830), of
which the Great Wave was the first, the pigment especially lent itself to
expressing both depth in water and distance, crucial atmospheric qualities to
render land and seascapes._

 _Hokusai drew influence from a particular “Rangakusha” (scholar of Dutch
texts) painter named Shiba Kokan, who experimented with European principles of
composition. In The Great Wave, Hokusai abandoned traditional Japanese
isometric view, where motifs were scaled according to importance, and instead
adopted the dynamic style of Western perspective featuring intersecting lines
of sight._

In short: the work itself incorporates deep influences from European art.
Ergo, it's pretty standard art criticism to assume that the choice of
materials and colors were also chosen deliberately.

[http://theconversation.com/friday-essay-from-the-great-
wave-...](http://theconversation.com/friday-essay-from-the-great-wave-to-
starry-night-how-a-blue-pigment-changed-the-world-81031)

~~~
goto11
Of course he chose the pigment deliberately. The question is if he chose it
because of its visual effect (and price and chemical properties) or because of
some symbolic meaning in the history of the pigment.

Choosing a pigment for its color is not the same as choosing it "just for
kicks". The entire purpose of a pigment is to create color!

~~~
keiferski
Clearly the most likely answer is "for both reasons", as I explained in the
parent comment. He had an interest in Western art, the work itself
incorporates Western techniques, the pigment was rare and associated with
(Western) modernity, and its particular qualities made it suited for his
visual goals. It would not make much sense to note that he made all of these
decisions to highlight a changing Japan / new influences from the West, but
say that he only chose Prussian blue because it looked nice.

This is not really an uncommon occurrence; artists choose materials for their
visual appearance and symbolic meaning all the time. Klimt's use of gold leaf
is a similar example.

 _Klimt 's use of gold was inspired by a trip he had made to Italy in 1903.
When he visited Ravenna he saw the Byzantine mosaics in the Church of San
Vitale. For Klimt, the flatness of the mosaics and their lack of perspective
and depth only enhanced their golden brilliance, and he started to make
unprecedented use of gold and silver leaf in his own work_

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kiss_(Klimt)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kiss_\(Klimt\))

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt#Golden_phase_and_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt#Golden_phase_and_critical_success)

~~~
toyg
I think the point of the parent poster is that artists (like Klimt) often
choose their materials because they want to achieve a certain effect, not
because they want to signal a certain concept or relationship to a specific
situation. Klimt did not choose that color and material to signal a return to
Byzantium mores or some particular link to the Eastern Italian coast, but
because it suited his imagery - that had classic influences but was
unmistakably something else and new.

Similarly, I agree that linking Hokusai’s use of a new blue to a particular
will of representing a changing Japanese society, is a big overreach without
other corroborating evidence. It makes much more sense that he was simply an
artist who was still at the peak of his powers and enjoyed innovating into his
late years. It’s like aged architects embracing new materials when they become
available - not because they represent this or that, but simply because they
work better and open new possibilities.

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moontear
What a horrible headline. Clickbait.

While I love Hokusai's art, this article does not explain why the Great Wave
mystifies art lovers nor how it does so for generations.

~~~
walterkrankheit
Right? It's much more about the process than the piece. Would have also read
that article, but I thought I was reading another.

~~~
Pigo
I also thought there was going to be some actual mystery about this painting
I've seen before, but don't know much about. I guess CNN got my click, I feel
duped.

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Obsnold
If anyone is interested in Japanese wood block prints I really suggest
checking out David Bulls channel on YouTube.

He did a whole series on his own copy of the Great Wave.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhiMCSvtCc&list=PLK-
Wicsj5r...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhiMCSvtCc&list=PLK-
Wicsj5rAasS2g7e-Z9eFUdG6I7ZqED&index=1)

------
blowski
I don't understand what has 'mystified' them. Enamored, impressed, inspired,
yes. But what are they mystified by?

~~~
brosinante
Mystified means bewildered or perplexed. Are these two feelings incompatible
with art?

~~~
scarejunba
The feelings are not incompatible with lots of things. For instance, you could
say, “I’m mystified by the fare schedules for transportation zones in London”.
That’s a valid sentence. If the schedules make sense to me, though, I might
ask “Why are you mystified?” and then you might say something like “I don’t
understand why it costs more to travel from X to Y than from X to Z” and we
can discuss it.

If you were to, instead, say “Is mystification incompatible with pricing
schedules?” no one will have benefited.

So, put simply, “What part confuses you?” is the question.

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JKCalhoun
> Takahashi says it takes about a decade to become a true ukiyo-e "shokunin,"
> or master craftsman, and that there are only 25 left in Tokyo today.

I was watching David Bull, the Canadian-turned-ukiyo-e carver lamenting that
the printer he wanted to produce his prints was busy printing some new Yoshida
Toshi prints for the late artists family from the artist's original wood
blocks.

I had no idea that you could get prints made from original blocks — and, when
I tracked them down, for a few hundred U.S. dollars.

I ordered a print for my wife for Christmas last year (this one:
[https://www.teamwakon.com/products/yoshida-toshi-
hyoroku](https://www.teamwakon.com/products/yoshida-toshi-hyoroku))

In the emails I got from the studio in Japan they wanted to know how they
could spread these prints to more people — to keep this art form alive.

If you've watched enough David Bull on YouTube (the Bob Ross of ukiyo-e
carving) you'll hear of his storied journey from being a young, enthusiastic
Canadian begging an audience with a touring company of Japanese masters, the
sneering reception he is often met with as he tries to excel in their craft
and finally his "arrival" when he dedicates a decade of his life to creating a
series of 100 prints.

And with all his YouTube exposure, all the videos he has created on how to
approach and eventually master the craft, his Twitch streaming... the old
masters came to him and said, "Thank you, David-san, you are doing what _we_
should have been doing."

Or so I paraphrase....

------
fierarul
I always liked this animated sketchbook about Hokusai made by Tony White:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmFGtsG_EgA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmFGtsG_EgA)

Wish it were available in a higher resolution.

Hiroshige also has many great woodblock prints in the same era.

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throw0101a
Most Westerners read text left-to-right, and therefore often interpret other
things left-to-right as well.

Supposedly in Japan(ese), people interpret things right-to-left, and so if one
wants to interpret this painting as the artist did natively, it should be
looked at coming from the right?

~~~
bodhi_mind
I've been studying oil painting under a local professional artist. One of the
topics that really interests me is composition. Artists go to great lengths to
design the placement, colors, texture, etc of objects in a painting to
purposely lead the eye. When I look at the Great Wave, I find my eyes start at
the top of the breaking wave, then move along the curve of the wave, to the
boat, then toward the right. It's actually kind of a Golden Spiral, which is
used often in paintings.

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harry8
Check out the false start. In the wave you can see the shape of mount fuji
from a different angle. Frequently not noticed but once seen, not viewed the
same way again.

~~~
Luc
Why would you call that a 'false start'.

~~~
toyg
I guess he assumes the artist started depicting Fuji-san, wasn’t happy with
the result, and reworked it all in a way that could accommodate some of the
initial effort. Which may or may not be true.

~~~
Luc
If that's the reason then... it's not true.

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cwmoore
There was a mural in Honolulu?

