Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)
Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1830–32
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 10 x 8 in, Wrong shape: a 14% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyThe most famous image in Japanese art: the great wave rearing over three oshiokuri delivery boats, Mount Fuji small and calm in the trough. Printed in the newly imported Prussian blue that transformed the medium, it crossed the ocean and bent Western art — Monet collected it; Debussy set La Mer beneath it. The foam breaks into claws; the wave's curve repeats the mountain's silhouette — Fuji hides inside its own storm. "The wave rises and falls. The mountain remains."
- Maker
- Katsushika Hokusai
- Date
- c. 1830–32
- Medium of the original
- Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Rights
- Cleared for print
- Catalogue number
- PA-00363
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 10 x 8 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 12 x 8 in | 140 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 14 x 11 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
| 16 x 12 in | 96 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 18 x 12 in | 93 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 20 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 24 x 16 in | 70 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 18 in | 64 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 20 in | 56 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 36 x 24 in | 46 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 40 x 30 in | 38 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 48 x 36 in | 32 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 60 x 40 in | 28 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,686 x 1,155 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 44, lights 241 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 17.51
The Floating World
Japanese woodblock prints, from ukiyo-e to Yoshitoshi, Goyō, Hasui and Yoshida.
All 64 pieces from The Floating World
