Katsushika
Hokusai (1760-1849) : Under the wave off
Kanagawa c.1825?1831? Wood block print
- The most famous of Hokusai'sThirty-six
Views of Mt. Fuji, this wave image has been used numerous times
by the surf media and surfboard companies.
- Superb draftmanship, note
the foreground waves' echo of Mt Fiji.
- The the drama of man against
the sea, over seen by the serenity of Mt. Fiji.
- Hokusai pioneered the
Japanese use of occidental perpective, a notable feature of Thirty-six
Views of Mt. Fuji . - Hokusai's
woodblocks were distinctive by their use of blue, a colour previously unavailable
in Japan.
- A powerful influence in
Japan and Europe, Hokusai was particually important to the work of Claude
Monet and Ando Hiroshige, see below.
REFERENCES
1. Lane, Richard : Masters
of the Japanese Print, Thames and Hudson, London, 1962. Pages 205 -
296.
2.Hajek, Lubor : Japanese
Graphic Art, Octopus Books, UK, 1976,
Hiroshige
: Angry sea
Ando Hiroshige
(1797-1858) : Angry sea at Naruto,
Awa province c.1830-31 Wood block print
- Strongly influenced by
Hokusai, this work is notable for the lack of humans, strictly a seascape.
- Extensive use of the newly
available blue ink.
- A wonderful example
of technique capturing the fluidty and motion of waves.
- Like Hokusai, Hiroshige
was a powerful influence in Japan and Europe, and was particually important
to the work of Claude Monet
- Waves also feature prominanly
in The Cave at Enoshima(see below) and The Proceesion
of Women to the Benten Temple on the Island of Enoshima. REFERENCES
1. Lane, Richard : Masters
of the Japanese Print, Thames and Hudson, London, 1962. Pages 205 -
296
2. Hajek, Lubor : Japanese
Graphic Art, Octopus Books, UK, 1976,
Hiroshige : The
Cave at Enoshima
Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)
: The Cave at Enoshima
c.1832 Wood block print
Travellers enter the
shine-grotto of Enoshima Island as a huge wave beats on the shore.
- Strongly influenced by
Hokusai, Hiroshige was a powerful influence in Japan and Europe, and was
particually important to the work of Claude Monet.
- Extensive use of the newly
available blue ink.
- Waves also feature prominanly
in Rough Sea(see above) and The Proceesion of Women
to the Benten Temple on the Island of Enoshima. REFERENCES
1. Lane, Richard : Masters
of the Japanese Print, Thames and Hudson, London, 1962. Pages 205 -
296.
2. Hajek, Lubor : Japanese
Graphic Art, Octopus Books, UK, 1976,
Hiroshige : The
Great Wave at Setta Point
Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)
: The Sea of Setta,Suruga
province (Suruga Setta no Kaijo) c.1852- 53 Format : Oban, Tate-e
From the series : Thirty-six
View of Mount Fuji (Fuji Sanju-Rokkei)
Published by Tsutaya Kichizo
in 1858
The Great Wave breaking
on the coast at Satta Point with a flight of alarmed Chidori making their
escape.
Whitley :
Thebes
Revenge
Whitely Brett (1939 - 1992)
: Thebes' Revenge (1973
- 82) Oil and collage on board,
203 x 122 cm
Private collection
- strongly influenced
by the dramatic brush work of van Gough, the work also owes a debt to the
favoured blue used in Japanese woodblocks, see above.
- the seashore is an significant
subject for Whitely, noteably a large number of paintings featuring Sydney
Harbour from his 1970's residence in Lavender Bay and Bondi Beach (1983).
REFERENCE
Pearce, Barry : Brett
Whiteley - Art and Life, The Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, 1995.
Shead : The
Wave
Shead, Garry (1942- ) : The Wave (1992) Oil on canvas board, 91
x121 cm
Private collection
- From The D.H. Lawrence
Paintings, a series of works based on D.H. Lawrence's Australian
novel Kangaroo (1922?) and his time writting the novel at Thirroul,
NSW.
- Lawrence, his wife Frieda,
the cottage Wyewurk, the Norfolk pinesand
the rugged coastline feature in most of the series. One of the other thematic
symbols of the series, a large kangaroo, is absent from this work.
- the Lawrence works were
initally encouraged by Shead's contemporary, Brett Whitely, and in 1973
they produced a dipych Portrait of D.H. Lawrence. (see Grishin,
page 51 below). Brett Whietley (see above) committed suicide at Thirroul
in 1992.
- the wave image is reminisent
of Hokusai's Under the Wave, Above.
REFERENCE
Grishin, Sasha : Gary
Shead and the Erotic Muse, Fine Art Publishing, St Leonards,
Sydney. 2001.
Robinson : Creation
Landscape: Earth and Sea - detail.
Robinson, William (19 ) : Creation Landscape
: Earth and Sea - detail. (1995) Oil on Canvas, multi panelled,
183 x 730 cm - full image below.
Private collection
- after moving to Kingscliff
on the northern NSW coast in 1994, the sea was to develope as a dramatic
image in Robinson's work.
- spanning the rainforest
to the sea, the picture is infused with an epic spirituality, in contrast
to most Australian interpretations of the subject.
- the grand scale of the
work is emphasised by indicating the earth's curvature, highlighted against
a dramatic sky.
- the savage wave action
(detail) is illuminated and centrally located.
- there is a strong influence
of Turner ( xxxx -xxxx).
REFERENCE
McDonald, John : William
Robinson, in
Klepac, Lou (editor) : Australian
Painters of the Twentith Century, The Beagle Press, Sydney. 2000. Pages
208 - 219.
Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti) (1518-94). Venetian
painter.
Christ at the Sea of Galilee
c. 1575-80; Oil on canvas, 117 x 168.5 cm; National Gallery of Art,
Washington
