Two auctions - Bonhams and Christie's - will be the place for the sale of two printed copies of engravings by the Japanese artist and illustrator Katsushika Hokusai. Under the Wave of the Kanagawa Sea, also known as The Great Wave of Kanagawa or The Great Wave, will be auctioned in September.
This engraving is considered the most famous of the series "Thirty-six Views of Fuji". The plot tells about the journey of sailors who sail to Tokyo and fall into a tsunami. Mount Fuji rises in the background of this fateful meeting.
First published in 1832, it became the most famous work of the Japanese artist. Her copies are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and Claude Monet's house in Giverny, France.
bonhams.com
The exhibited specimens do not have defects that often occur in other specimens due to cracks on the wooden blocks. The color has a slight amount of fading. There are no signs of restoration.
According to Takaaki Murakami, head of Japanese and Korean art at Christie's, now is an extremely good time to acquire the prints of "Under the Wave of the Kanagawa Sea". This is also supported by the trading results. For example, in 2019, 11 out of 24 sales of these engravings took place at Christie's, and some of the works sold for significantly more than expected.
christies.com
We should also mention the record sale last March, when a copy was purchased for $2.8 million by an anonymous buyer.
"We have a lot of customers who want to buy The Big Wave," Murakami said.
Source:
artnews.com
bonhams.com
christies.com
