Arranging the Picture

Katsushika Hokusai

Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)

ca. 1830–32

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 25.7 × 37.9 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Hokusai builds the scene from a handful of dark blue and pale shapes.

• Look inside the wave: its dark blue gathers into broad bands.
• White foam and pale sky make the light masses around them.
• Behind Fuji, a band of dark gray sky sets off its white peak.

Concepts

• Notan and Value Massing

Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Public Domain (Met Open Access)