Ukiyo-e · 1830s
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1830s) by Hokusai. Its palette is led by bone (#c6c2ab, 52%) and light muted aqua (#7daaa3, 13%), with accents of dark muted azure blue, very dark muted blue, golden olive, dark golden olive and light amber gold. Overall the canvas is light, moderately saturated and balanced between warm and cool.
Color notes
The deep blue is Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment then newly available in Japan.
Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, The Great Wave among them, made bold use of Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment newly imported to Japan.
Palette
- #c6c2ab MG 171 bone 51.7% of canvas
- #7daaa3 MG 080 light muted aqua 13.4% of canvas
- #fdfdfb MG 205 white 9.8% of canvas
- #264c6d MG 098 dark muted azure blue 8.6% of canvas
- #0e1735 MG 100 very dark muted blue 7.4% of canvas
- #9a8d65 MG 191 golden olive 6.2% of canvas
- #4c421d MG 194 dark golden olive 1.6% of canvas
- #caaa69 MG 037 light amber gold 1.3% of canvas
Color families
Brown 39%, Blue 24%, White 23%, Gray 7%, Green 4%
Measurements
Composition
60% of the visual weight is in the left half, 68% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.00 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 32% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 25% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.
Details
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