Hokusai - "The Breaking Wave off Kanagawa"

For the first time in the history of art we are able to demonstrate a dramatic convergence between Hokusai [1760

to 1849] and Turner [1775 to 1851] . They co-existed on opposite sides of our planet for almost three-quarters of

a century. Somehow, in spite of the huge distance that separated them,they created many ideas along parallel

lines in the course of their artistic development - Hokusai in Japan and Turner in London.

The curators at The Turner Museum discovered no less than fifty converging themes over the course of their

long lives. None as dramatic as their Great Waves, presented for the first time, in this exhibition! Most of us

instantly recognize Hokusai's Great Wave which has become over the centuries the towering icon of Oriental art

- reproduced millions of times all over the world on calendars, posters and greeting cards. Lesser known is

Turner's Great Wave off Quilleboeuf, a small French village off the Atlantic Ocean. This wave is the result of the

clash between the River Seine's outrushing waters and the incoming tides of the Atlantic. To this day it is quite a

hazard for boats coming home from fishing in the Atlantic. Turner appeared to have developed a great affinity for

this dramatic scene and as was his custom with many of his favorite images, created several versions on paper

and in oils.

Perhaps the best known, and certainly the largest version, is in Lisbon's famed Gulbenkian Museum. The oil

sketch reproduced here, on the walls of The Turner Museum, appears to be a preparatory work for the large

version. In the 1830's Turner worked along the Seine, starting close to Paris, to produce some 20 images for the

album of steel-engravings: "Turner's Annual Tour - The Seine - 1835". This, along with two companion albums,

became the 19th Century version of an instant coffee-table best-seller, with a total of 61 memorable views, one

of which is entitled simply "Quilleboeuf" the version exhibited here is the only one which has a great wave, all the

others have two or more smaller waves.

Hokusai was similarly engaged, at exactly the same time, in a soon-to-be famed series: "36 views of Mount Fuji",

all wood-cuts, reproduced on paper. Thus the stellar geniuses of the Orient and the Occident worked on quite

similar projects in the 1830's - both at the peak of their artistic careers!

J.M.W. Turner - "Great Wave off Quilleboeuf"

Hokusai & J.M.W. Turner

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