Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave, off Kanagawa (The Great Wave), Metal Bookmark

$24.00 at National Gallery of Art.

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This is perhaps the single most famous of Hokusai's woodblock prints - perhaps of all Japanese prints. It belongs to the series 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'. The graceful snow-clad mountain stands out unperturbed against the deep blue of the horizon. Yet it is reduced to a tiny hillock compared with the towering strength of the wave which threatens to engulf the struggling boats. Such clever, playful manipulation of the composition is a feature of many of Hokusai's works. Featuring a detail from the…