Earl R. Merrill: How The 19th Century Japanese Artist Hokusai Influenced His Dutch Contemporary

Sunday, September 30, 2018

How The 19th Century Japanese Artist Hokusai Influenced His Dutch Contemporary

Van Gogh admired Katsushika Hokusai and studied prints of The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. Did it influence Starry Night? From a visual standpoint, that seems probable: “The similarities between the thrust of the wave and the swirling of the sky; that they are both striking studies in blue; and the fact that Van Gogh admired The Great Wave so much all point to a loose inspiration.”