Non-Western Art Critique: The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Kylie Wetzel Professor Bomboy HUM 101 Non-Western Art Critique: The Great Wave off Kanagawa “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”. Also known simply as “The Great Wave”, this piece is a woodblock print by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. This woodblock print was created sometime between 1830 and 1833 during the late Edo Period, and is considered Hokusai’s most famous creation (“Hokusai, Under the Wave”2014). We know the print is authentic due to the creators’ signature in the upper-left corner of the print. This woodblock print was the first print in Hokusai’s series “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fiji”. “The Great Wave itself makes use of several examples of elements and design principles. One perfect example of this Woodblock prints use of art elements is lines. The wood block print is created in the Ukiyo-e style, a genre of woodblock printing that uses a bold, well defined, flat line as a defining feature of the art style. The lines are thin yet solid, easily defining the boa...