Art: the secrets behind the Great Wave off Kanagawa

It’s one of the most famous surf spots in the world, but no one has ever put their board there. The Great Wave off Kanagawa never ceases to impress generations. Produced by Hokusai in 1830 using the ancestral technique of Japanese printmaking, which combines drawing, painting and engraving, it has toured the world. We see two waves, including a gigantic one, overturning fishing boats. But above all, Mount Fuji, Hokusai’s real obsession, is present in the background of the print.

An achievement that has become a planetary icon. Van Gogh was inspired by the wave for the sky in his famous starry painting. It was then advertising and pop culture that took over with brand logos, but also numerous representations or winks by street artists. A trend that France Télévisions did not resist for its advertising of the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021.