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"Under the wave in the sea off Kanagawa": Forces of nature frozen at the moment
Photo: United Archives International / IMAGO
The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek has acquired one of the most famous graphic works of art in the world: the »Great Wave« by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). The work had been purchased for a lower seven-digit euro amount from a private collection, the State Library announced. It is the final and at the same time the culmination of a series of acquisitions of works by the Japanese artist by the library.
Metaphor for transience
Hokusai created the color woodcut »Under the Wave in the Sea off Kanagawa« – the actual title – in the years 1830/32. It is the best-known sheet in his woodcut series »36 Views of Mount Fuji«. The sacred mountain can be seen in the background, while in the foreground a huge wave threatens to break over fishing boats. The depiction was reportedly interpreted as the embodiment of the beauty as well as the destructive power of nature, as a metaphor for the transience of human life, but also as a symbol of the West's invasion of Japan.
With the new acquisition, the impressive Japan collection of the State Library grows by another jewel, said Art Minister Markus Blume (CSU). "I am very pleased that we have succeeded in bringing this top-class pressure to Bavaria. Munich is thus one of the few places in Germany whose collections have such gems of this world-famous master.«
According to the information, art-technological investigations at the Institute for Conservation and Restoration of the State Library confirmed that the color woodcut is an early, extraordinarily well-preserved print of the original printing plates.
The work will be a highlight of the State Library's annual exhibition planned for 2025, which will be dedicated to the collection of Japanese woodblock prints. The Japanese collection of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek comprises a total of around 90,000 printed volumes, 100 manuscripts and 900 single-sheet prints.
kae/dpa