Beneath the Great Wave

Overview

Join curator Imogen Holmes-Roe for a tour of Beneath the Great Wave: Hokusai, Hiroshige, and ukiyo-e print, the Whitworth’s first exhibition dedicated to Japanese prints in over 100 years. This exhibition presents iconic artworks by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) to explore the evolution of traditional ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings.

Translated as ‘Pictures of a Floating World’, ukiyo-e prints were popularised during the Edo period (1615–1868) and reveal Tokyo’s emergence as a city at the cusp of the modern age. Exploring the work of Japan’s most celebrated artists, the exhibition shows how Hokusai and Hiroshige’s landscape prints transformed the genre.

Meet in the foyer of the Whitworth Gallery.

Kanagawa oki nami ura (Under The Great Wave off Kanagawa) [“Great Wave”] Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) On loan from a Private Collection. © 2023 Christie’s Images Limited.