Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Under the Wave off Kanagawa)

The Great Wave off Kanagawa Created during Japan's Edo period, Hokusai's iconic woodblock print revolutionized landscape art by elevating nature's dramatic moments to subjects worthy of fine art attention. The composition's bold perspective and striking use of Prussian blue—a pigment recently imported from Europe—demonstrates how Japanese artists ingeniously blended traditional ukiyo-e techniques with Western influences. This print became one of the most recognizable images in art history, inspiring countless Western artists and cementing Hokusai's legacy as a master of capturing the dynamic energy of the natural world.