Hokusai's iconic print makes a splash this winter

Created nearly 200 years ago by Katsushika Hokusai as part of a series of prints featuring Tokyo’s iconic Mount Fuji, The Great Wave has continued to captivate audiences across the world. With its bold design and simple use of color, the image depicts a monstrous cresting wave about to swallow several boaters. Even the revered Mount Fuji—seen at a great distance in the center of the scene—appears fragile, about to be engulfed. Though thousands of copies of the print were produced from the original woodblocks, only about 100 exist today.

The Great Wave, currently on view at the Art Institute of Chicago, is shown in partnership with the Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago initiative, a citywide reading program designed to build community. This year’s book selection is Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, which features characters who draw inspiration from Hokusai’s iconic print. Zevin has also praised the designer John Gall for capturing the novel’s contents with a cover based on the image. Joining this moment of creative exchange, Art on theMART partners with the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Public Library to welcome the people of our great city to gather and connect around this iconic work.

The Great Wave on view at the Art Institute of Chicago until January 6, 2025.
Art on the Mart projection November 22nd through December 28, 2024. Thursday through Sunday. 

Credits

Katsushika Hokusai. Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei), 1830/33. Clarence Buckingham Collection.