Ancient Prints
not including broadsides
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Prints Literature Poems and lyrics
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Prints Literature Poems and lyrics
REMBRANDT
1
masterpiece
1649 Christ healing the Sick
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Great masters of painting such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, Munch and Picasso also aimed to create images. In the 1640s, Rembrandt looks for new effects by mingling the techniques of etching, drypoint and burin. He executed the prints himself without assistant.
The prototype is a theme from the Gospels, Christ healing the Sick, completed ca 1649. In competition with the new mezzotint technique, Rembrandt is skilled in obtaining half tones by varying the inking. Contrasts in the sharpness of the lines create an atmosphere by highlighting some areas of the image. The image of the example in the Rijksmuseum is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1650 the Shell is a search for a wider number of themes, here highlighted in a bold oblique composition. An example was sold for £ 730K by Christie's on December 7, 2023, lot 70.
The prototype is a theme from the Gospels, Christ healing the Sick, completed ca 1649. In competition with the new mezzotint technique, Rembrandt is skilled in obtaining half tones by varying the inking. Contrasts in the sharpness of the lines create an atmosphere by highlighting some areas of the image. The image of the example in the Rijksmuseum is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1650 the Shell is a search for a wider number of themes, here highlighted in a bold oblique composition. An example was sold for £ 730K by Christie's on December 7, 2023, lot 70.
2
1653 St. Jerome
2023 SOLD for £ 1.55M by Christie's
The early 1650s are very difficult for Rembrandt. He is a widower and his life with his son's nanny creates a scandal. Orders cease and his financial situation is very bad.
St. Jerome reading in an Italian Landscape was prepared in that intermediate period. Its terminus ante quem is 1653 with the first image of the unfinished Passion series.
An example of the first state of two, made by etching and drypoint on 26 x 21 cm warm toned Japan paper, was sold for £ 1.55M from a lower estimate of £ 500K by Christie's on December 7, 2023, lot 31 in the sale of the Josefowitz collection.
St. Jerome, who is a recurring character in Rembrandt's prints, is here identified only by the lion which looks at the Italian scenery. There is a contrast between the sketched figure of the saint in a blank sunlight and the detailed landscape in the Venetian style of Giorgione and Titian.
St. Jerome reading in an Italian Landscape was prepared in that intermediate period. Its terminus ante quem is 1653 with the first image of the unfinished Passion series.
An example of the first state of two, made by etching and drypoint on 26 x 21 cm warm toned Japan paper, was sold for £ 1.55M from a lower estimate of £ 500K by Christie's on December 7, 2023, lot 31 in the sale of the Josefowitz collection.
St. Jerome, who is a recurring character in Rembrandt's prints, is here identified only by the lion which looks at the Italian scenery. There is a contrast between the sketched figure of the saint in a blank sunlight and the detailed landscape in the Venetian style of Giorgione and Titian.
#AuctionUpdate #Rembrandt's 'Saint Jerome reading in an Italian Landscape' achieved £1,522,500 (more than 3x the low estimate). This magnificent sheet has everything Rembrandt achieved as a printmaker in his later, experimental years: https://t.co/FIGR4o5Ui7 pic.twitter.com/S75jkltNiH
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) December 7, 2023
3
1655 Ecce Homo
2018 SOLD for £ 2.65M by Christie's
In 1653 Rembrandt manages to enlarge the format of his prints.
His solutions are innovative. The dry point was used until then in addition to etching and chisel for minor reworks of the drawing. Rembrandt attempts compositions entirely in dry point.
Applied obliquely like a pencil, his needle improves the variety of the line. The incision of the stylus in the copper is shallow, allowing a harmony between the drawing and the inkings left voluntarily on the plate to bring brightness and shadows.
His second work and first masterpiece in these improved techniques is The Three Crosses, also known as Christ crucified between the two thieves, 38 x 45 cm. The innovative tumultuous composition also features a crowd of mourners including the fainted Mary, plus a centurion converted by the last breath of Christ.
A richly tonal example of the second state of the Christ crucified between the two thieves was sold for $ 1.38M by Christie's on October 23, 2024, lot 20. It is printed with full 1 mm margins on laid paper with Strasbourg watermark. Its condition is very good.
The third state with a dramatically increased shade was considered as finished by Rembrandt who dated it 1653 and signed it. 22 impressions of that state are known including three in private hands. One of them on white laid paper with the Strasbourg watermark was sold for £ 1.46M by Christie's on July 7, 2022, lot 17.
Another copy from the third state, also on white laid paper with the Strasbourg watermark, was sold for £ 1.23M by Christie's on December 7, 2023, lot 19. Its margins in all sides are wider than the example above, 396 x 465 mm overall paper size compared to 388 x 453 mm.
1653 was otherwise a very difficult year for the artist facing the consequences of Saskia's death on his family life, financial issues close to bankruptcy and the continuation of the Anglo-Dutch war that slowed the demands of the customers.
His solutions are innovative. The dry point was used until then in addition to etching and chisel for minor reworks of the drawing. Rembrandt attempts compositions entirely in dry point.
Applied obliquely like a pencil, his needle improves the variety of the line. The incision of the stylus in the copper is shallow, allowing a harmony between the drawing and the inkings left voluntarily on the plate to bring brightness and shadows.
His second work and first masterpiece in these improved techniques is The Three Crosses, also known as Christ crucified between the two thieves, 38 x 45 cm. The innovative tumultuous composition also features a crowd of mourners including the fainted Mary, plus a centurion converted by the last breath of Christ.
A richly tonal example of the second state of the Christ crucified between the two thieves was sold for $ 1.38M by Christie's on October 23, 2024, lot 20. It is printed with full 1 mm margins on laid paper with Strasbourg watermark. Its condition is very good.
The third state with a dramatically increased shade was considered as finished by Rembrandt who dated it 1653 and signed it. 22 impressions of that state are known including three in private hands. One of them on white laid paper with the Strasbourg watermark was sold for £ 1.46M by Christie's on July 7, 2022, lot 17.
Another copy from the third state, also on white laid paper with the Strasbourg watermark, was sold for £ 1.23M by Christie's on December 7, 2023, lot 19. Its margins in all sides are wider than the example above, 396 x 465 mm overall paper size compared to 388 x 453 mm.
1653 was otherwise a very difficult year for the artist facing the consequences of Saskia's death on his family life, financial issues close to bankruptcy and the continuation of the Anglo-Dutch war that slowed the demands of the customers.
The next state of the Three Crosses was a further technical development made necessary from the wear out of the plate. It was possibly made just before the 1655 Ecce Homo that does not use the same Strasbourg watermarked paper. Before that consideration, it had been dated ca 1661.
Rembrandt worked differently for that fourth state, replacing on the same plate the subtle smoky contrasts by diagonal strokes. The scene is now closed like by two dark curtains that focus the viewer's eye on the figure of the dying Christ. The drawings are highly modified.
The example from the Josefowitz collection had been printed without trimming and without margins on laid paper without watermark. This early impression from the fourth state has been darkly and evenly suffused with burr in dramatic contrasts. it was sold for £ 1.25M by Christie's on December 5, 2024, lot 29.
A richly inked impression from the fourth state with the Strasbourg watermark was sold for £ 420K by Christie's on December 2, 2008, lot 49. A fine impression of the same state on Japan paper was sold for £ 470K on December 5, 2006, also by Christie's, lot 201.
These processes could not satisfy the artist because of the painstaking preparation of the ink shades and of the necessarily incomplete and frustrating repairs to the worn plates, after a mere 3 runs of low production. He will not reuse this technique, giving up the possible project of a dry point series on the Passion of Christ.
A fifth state was created after a local printer acquired the plate.
Rembrandt worked differently for that fourth state, replacing on the same plate the subtle smoky contrasts by diagonal strokes. The scene is now closed like by two dark curtains that focus the viewer's eye on the figure of the dying Christ. The drawings are highly modified.
The example from the Josefowitz collection had been printed without trimming and without margins on laid paper without watermark. This early impression from the fourth state has been darkly and evenly suffused with burr in dramatic contrasts. it was sold for £ 1.25M by Christie's on December 5, 2024, lot 29.
A richly inked impression from the fourth state with the Strasbourg watermark was sold for £ 420K by Christie's on December 2, 2008, lot 49. A fine impression of the same state on Japan paper was sold for £ 470K on December 5, 2006, also by Christie's, lot 201.
These processes could not satisfy the artist because of the painstaking preparation of the ink shades and of the necessarily incomplete and frustrating repairs to the worn plates, after a mere 3 runs of low production. He will not reuse this technique, giving up the possible project of a dry point series on the Passion of Christ.
A fifth state was created after a local printer acquired the plate.
1655 is another difficult year for Rembrandt closer than ever to bankruptcy.
After his Christ crucified, the artist prepares in the same size another multi-figure scene of the Passion, Ecce Homo (Christ presented to the people). The Japan paper is smaller than his copperplate and he adds a narrow extra stripe at the top of the image.
A 38 x 45 cm impression of the first state of Ecce Homo was sold for £ 2.65M by Christie's on July 5, 2018, lot 22. It is the only copy remaining in private hands from the first four states of this image.
The Ecce Homo is inspired from the same theme printed by Lucas van Leyden in 1520, Rembrandt displaying a closer view conducing to a theatrical staging of the action in which Christ is presented on a raised terrace in front of Pilate’s palace. The figures including Christ are described in outlines. This voluntarily sketchy impression improves the immediacy of the action.
Christ's presentation matches the contemporary Netherlandish judicial practice. The viewer is pushed by the artist in the midst of the attending crowd. The palace is in the style of the new Amsterdam town hall opened in the same year, 1655.
The copper plates wear out, preventing large printing. From the fourth state the plate is cut down by about 25 mm in height, removing the architrave. The artist deliberately blurs some damaged areas of the Ecce Homo after its fourth state.
A 36 x 46 cm impression from the fifth state on heavy laid paper without watermark was sold for £ 510K by Sotheby's on December 6, 2023, lot 13.
Rembrandt changed the composition drastically in the later states. The eighth and last state is dated 1655.
After his Christ crucified, the artist prepares in the same size another multi-figure scene of the Passion, Ecce Homo (Christ presented to the people). The Japan paper is smaller than his copperplate and he adds a narrow extra stripe at the top of the image.
A 38 x 45 cm impression of the first state of Ecce Homo was sold for £ 2.65M by Christie's on July 5, 2018, lot 22. It is the only copy remaining in private hands from the first four states of this image.
The Ecce Homo is inspired from the same theme printed by Lucas van Leyden in 1520, Rembrandt displaying a closer view conducing to a theatrical staging of the action in which Christ is presented on a raised terrace in front of Pilate’s palace. The figures including Christ are described in outlines. This voluntarily sketchy impression improves the immediacy of the action.
Christ's presentation matches the contemporary Netherlandish judicial practice. The viewer is pushed by the artist in the midst of the attending crowd. The palace is in the style of the new Amsterdam town hall opened in the same year, 1655.
The copper plates wear out, preventing large printing. From the fourth state the plate is cut down by about 25 mm in height, removing the architrave. The artist deliberately blurs some damaged areas of the Ecce Homo after its fourth state.
A 36 x 46 cm impression from the fifth state on heavy laid paper without watermark was sold for £ 510K by Sotheby's on December 6, 2023, lot 13.
Rembrandt changed the composition drastically in the later states. The eighth and last state is dated 1655.
Rare Rembrandt Print at Christie’s London in July https://t.co/99TSYVaBkp pic.twitter.com/wwG1KoLWE4
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) May 2, 2018
4
1656 Arnout Tholinx, Inspector by Rembrandt
2025 SOLD for £ 3.1M by Christie's
The portrait of Arnout Tholinx, inspector, is an etching and engraving with drypoint printed ca 1656 by Rembrandt.
A copy from the first state of two on laid paper was sold for £ 3.1M from a lower estimate of £ 1.5M by Christie's on December 3, 2025, lot 9.
Asking Grok to confirm rarity and to compare style and technique with the portrait of Jan Lutma.
Grok thought :
The Portrait of Arnout Tholinx (also known as Arnout Tholinx, Inspector) is indeed listed as lot 9 in Christie's auction "The Sam Josefowitz Collection: Graphic Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn – Part III," scheduled for December 3, 2025, in London. It is an etching and engraving with drypoint on laid paper, circa 1656, with an estimate of GBP 1,500,000–2,500,000. Confirmation of Rarity
This print is exceptionally rare, even among Rembrandt's oeuvre. It exists in only two states, and the impression in the Josefowitz collection (the one being sold) is one of just four known examples of the first state—the others are held by the British Museum, the Louvre (from the Rothschild collection), and a private collection. The rarity stems from several factors: the heavy reliance on drypoint, which wears down quickly and limits the number of high-quality impressions that can be pulled from the plate; the plate's likely private ownership by the sitter (or his family), restricting widespread printing; and Rembrandt's financial difficulties in the mid-1650s, which may have curtailed production. Historically, it has always been noted for its scarcity, with early catalogers like Thomas Wilson in 1836 describing it as "extremely rare." This makes it the rarest of Rembrandt's major portrait prints from the 1650s.
Comparison with the Portrait of Jan Lutma
The Portrait of Jan Lutma (also known as Jan Lutma, Goldsmith) is another Rembrandt print from 1656, making it a close contemporary to the Tholinx portrait. Both belong to a select group of Rembrandt's mid-1650s portraits depicting Amsterdam professionals or acquaintances, often commissioned for financial support during the artist's bankruptcy period. They share stylistic and technical similarities as mature works showcasing Rembrandt's mastery of printmaking, but also exhibit subtle differences in execution and emphasis.
Similarities in Style and Technique
A copy from the first state of two on laid paper was sold for £ 3.1M from a lower estimate of £ 1.5M by Christie's on December 3, 2025, lot 9.
Asking Grok to confirm rarity and to compare style and technique with the portrait of Jan Lutma.
Grok thought :
The Portrait of Arnout Tholinx (also known as Arnout Tholinx, Inspector) is indeed listed as lot 9 in Christie's auction "The Sam Josefowitz Collection: Graphic Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn – Part III," scheduled for December 3, 2025, in London. It is an etching and engraving with drypoint on laid paper, circa 1656, with an estimate of GBP 1,500,000–2,500,000. Confirmation of Rarity
This print is exceptionally rare, even among Rembrandt's oeuvre. It exists in only two states, and the impression in the Josefowitz collection (the one being sold) is one of just four known examples of the first state—the others are held by the British Museum, the Louvre (from the Rothschild collection), and a private collection. The rarity stems from several factors: the heavy reliance on drypoint, which wears down quickly and limits the number of high-quality impressions that can be pulled from the plate; the plate's likely private ownership by the sitter (or his family), restricting widespread printing; and Rembrandt's financial difficulties in the mid-1650s, which may have curtailed production. Historically, it has always been noted for its scarcity, with early catalogers like Thomas Wilson in 1836 describing it as "extremely rare." This makes it the rarest of Rembrandt's major portrait prints from the 1650s.
Comparison with the Portrait of Jan Lutma
The Portrait of Jan Lutma (also known as Jan Lutma, Goldsmith) is another Rembrandt print from 1656, making it a close contemporary to the Tholinx portrait. Both belong to a select group of Rembrandt's mid-1650s portraits depicting Amsterdam professionals or acquaintances, often commissioned for financial support during the artist's bankruptcy period. They share stylistic and technical similarities as mature works showcasing Rembrandt's mastery of printmaking, but also exhibit subtle differences in execution and emphasis.
Similarities in Style and Technique
- Composition and Subject Matter: Both are half-length, seated portraits that emphasize the sitter's profession and personality through subtle details. Tholinx, a physician and inspector of medical colleges, is shown at a desk with reading glasses in hand, an open book, stacked papers, and bottles (likely medical or scholarly tools) in the background, conveying intellectual poise and introspection. Lutma, a renowned goldsmith and sculptor, is similarly posed in a relaxed yet dignified manner, holding a candlestick with a hammer, chisels, and an auricular-style dish on the table beside him—attributes that highlight his craft. In each, Rembrandt uses the setting to add depth and narrative, drawing the viewer's eye to the face while integrating symbolic elements that reflect the sitter's status.
- Printmaking Techniques: Both employ a combination of etching (for fine lines and structure), drypoint (for rich, velvety burr and tonal depth), and engraving or burin work (for sharper details and refinements). Rembrandt's innovative use of drypoint is prominent in creating dramatic contrasts: in Tholinx, it produces deep blacks, atmospheric shadows (e.g., ink-like effects on the shoulder), and textured folds in clothing, with deliberate "unfinished" areas that guide focus to the face and hands. Similarly, in Lutma, drypoint adds burr over a dense web of etched lines, varying direction and strength to achieve a wide range of tones and textures, such as the soft rendering of Lutma's aged features and the reflective surfaces of his metalwork tools. This results in a shared emotive quality—velvety richness and subtle plate tone that evoke three-dimensionality and light play, hallmarks of Rembrandt's late style.
- Artistic Intent and Effect: These prints exemplify Rembrandt's 1650s shift toward expressive, introspective portraits with psychological depth. The burr from drypoint creates a sense of immediacy and drama, akin to his experimental works like The Three Crosses (1653), where drypoint conveys emotion over precision. Both portraits lack traditional identifying captions, relying on visual storytelling to immortalize the sitters.
- States and Durability: Tholinx has only two states, with the first (like the Josefowitz impression) featuring abundant drypoint burr for bold, sometimes ambiguous effects (e.g., spots or poured-ink illusions) that were toned down in the second state for clarity. Lutma, in contrast, has four states, allowing for more progressive refinements and potentially more impressions overall—though first-state examples remain scarce and prized for their fresh burr.
- Tonal Emphasis and Finish: Tholinx leans toward a more "unfinished" aesthetic in peripheral areas, using excessive drypoint to create captivating ambiguity and direct attention inward, almost like a sketch brought to life. This imparts a mysterious, intimate quality. Lutma feels slightly more resolved, with etching providing a structured base and drypoint enhancing textures (e.g., the absent, half-closed eyes suggesting Lutma's possible blindness, adding pathos). The result is a warmer, more tactile portrayal in Lutma, emphasizing craftsmanship, while Tholinx prioritizes intellectual aura and shadow play.
- Overall Impact: Tholinx is often described as more captivating and elusive due to its rarity and dramatic burr, evoking a sense of rarity in viewing. Lutma, while equally masterful, has a broader catalog presence and feels more accessible in its celebration of artisanal skill, with clearer integration of tools as focal points.
BLAKE
Intro
From his childhood and throughout his life, William Blake claims to have visions of God and the Angels. To please the archangels, he writes poems on the other world, illustrated in hand-colored engravings. That world shelters the dead, with whom he also communicates.
Of modest origin, son of a hosier, he follows an original path, wishing the union of all religions, in a hostile reaction against the evil philosophers of Reason.
To prepare his illuminated books, he develops in 1788 a technique of relief etched copper printing. The poem and the figure are prepared with an acid resistant varnish, backwards of the plate because the printing process reverses the figures. After the plate is etched in an acid bath, the print is executed on recto and verso by inking the relief and roll pressing.
A prophetic book by Blake is made of individual etched plates. Each page contains the text of a poem supplemented or amended by a correlated illustration. Each copy is hand painted with another set of color by the poet-artist and his wife. They were unprecedented examples of what is now known as artists' books.
The 1788 experimental sets titled There is no Natural Religion and All Religions are One clearly position Blake's mystical target.
Of modest origin, son of a hosier, he follows an original path, wishing the union of all religions, in a hostile reaction against the evil philosophers of Reason.
To prepare his illuminated books, he develops in 1788 a technique of relief etched copper printing. The poem and the figure are prepared with an acid resistant varnish, backwards of the plate because the printing process reverses the figures. After the plate is etched in an acid bath, the print is executed on recto and verso by inking the relief and roll pressing.
A prophetic book by Blake is made of individual etched plates. Each page contains the text of a poem supplemented or amended by a correlated illustration. Each copy is hand painted with another set of color by the poet-artist and his wife. They were unprecedented examples of what is now known as artists' books.
The 1788 experimental sets titled There is no Natural Religion and All Religions are One clearly position Blake's mystical target.
William Blake (1757–1827), the English poet, painter, and printmaker, experienced lifelong visions that profoundly shaped his life and art. From childhood, he reported seeing angels in trees, the prophet Ezekiel, and divine figures, which he described as vivid and real, not mere fancy.
Contemporaries often labeled him mad, contributing to his obscurity during his lifetime—he died poor and underappreciated. Modern psychiatric perspectives offer varied interpretations, viewing his experiences through lenses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, heightened imagination (hyperphantasia), or mystical insight rather than pathology.
Visions and Mental Health in Blake's Life
Blake's visions began early: at age four, he saw God at a window; later, angels filled a tree, earning a scolding from his mother. He claimed guidance from spirits, including his deceased brother Robert, and insisted his works were dictated by higher forces.
He functioned productively—working as an engraver, marrying Catherine Boucher (who supported him devotedly), and creating illuminated books combining poetry and art. However, around 1800, he endured a "deep pit of Melancholy... without any real reason for it," a depressive episode followed by intense creativity, suggesting possible bipolar traits.
Some analyses propose schizophrenia due to persistent hallucinations and a complex personal mythology (e.g., figures like Urizen, Orc, Los). Others argue against this, noting his visions were controlled, inspirational, and integrated into coherent art, lacking the disorganization typical of severe psychosis.
Recent views, informed by neuroscience, suggest extreme hyperphantasia—an unusually vivid mental imagery that Blake interpreted spiritually. He criticized "single vision" (rational materialism, as in his depiction of Isaac Newton) and advocated "fourfold vision" for deeper perception.
Psychiatric Themes in Blake's Art and Poetry
Blake's work explores psychological states avant la lettre. He critiqued rationalism as a cause of mental constriction: Urizen (reason) embodies repressive law, leading to solipsistic despair or "Ulro."In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, he embraces contraries—"Without Contraries is no progression"—mirroring the tension between energy (passion) and reason, akin to Freudian id and superego dynamics, though predating Freud.
Jungian readings see his mythology as archetypal, integrating opposites for wholeness. His prophetic books (Jerusalem, Milton) depict falls into error and redemptions, reflecting inner psychic struggles.
Apocalyptic series like The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun evoke terrifying yet transformative visions, symbolizing destructive forces confronted for renewal.
Blake's own analysis of melancholia reframed it spiritually: excessive reason isolates the self, while imagination liberates. His art channels potential pathology into creation, turning visions into prophetic critiques of industrialization, repression, and "mind-forg'd manacles."
Conclusion
Blake's life and art blur madness and genius, pathology and prophecy. Retrospective diagnoses risk anachronism—his visions fueled revolutionary creativity, influencing Romantics, Surrealists, and modern psychology.
As he wrote, "The Imagination is not a State: it is the Human existence itself." Whether viewed as mental divergence or transcendent insight, Blake's work affirms imagination's power to expand human perception beyond rational limits.
1
1794 Illuminated Book : Urizen
1999 SOLD for $ 2.53M by Sotheby's
The First Book of Urizen, conceived by Blake in 1794, is a parody of the Book of Genesis. In the invention of the artist, the long white bearded elderly patriarch is the evil God who manages the fall of the world at its origins. He is combining deism, the laws of Newton and the laws of Moses. The four elements are his sons.
8 copies are known. Only one, described as Copy E by Bentley, is in private hands. It was sold for $ 2.53M from a lower estimate of $ 500K by Sotheby's on April 23, 1999, lot 535 in the Whitney estate sale.
This 24-leaf book was presented in a slim green morocco slip case. Other copies had up to four more plates.
8 copies are known. Only one, described as Copy E by Bentley, is in private hands. It was sold for $ 2.53M from a lower estimate of $ 500K by Sotheby's on April 23, 1999, lot 535 in the Whitney estate sale.
This 24-leaf book was presented in a slim green morocco slip case. Other copies had up to four more plates.
2
1795 Songs of Innocence and of Experience
2024 SOLD for $ 4.3M by Sotheby's
Originally in 1789, Songs of Innocence is a collection of 23 poems dealing with a happy childhood and juvenile education in a pastoral harmony, a temporary and vulnerable condition rejecting the dogma of the original sin. Their 26 counterparts dealing with the fallen world including child labor and aging, conceived in 1794, are the Songs of Experience.
The apart production of the Songs of Innocence was about 20 copies. After the first trial copy, the next four examples were printed in green ink mixed with Prussian blue and hand colored in pastel tones by the artist and his wife. One of them made of 21 plates in 12 leaves was sold for $ 1.26M by Christie's on June 10, 2025, lot 29.
The first issue of the Songs of Experience is made of 4 sets of 17 plates printed on rectos. A disbound set executed in 1793 and dated 1794 was sold for $ 1.87M by Christie's on June 10, 2025, lot 30.
Some songs may jump from one series to the other, and the final combining of both in one volume is titled from 1794 as Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. The whole is the cornerstone of Blake's social commentary.
24 copies of the full set are known. Some of them are composite.
A composite set of 53 plates including the intermediate frontispieces is identified as the Copy J. Plates were inlaid to a larger sheet 20 x 12 cm in the later 19th century and bound in one volume ca 1900. It was sold for $ 4.3M from a lower estimate of $ 1.2M by Sotheby's on June 26, 2024, lot 1. It includes a detailed manuscript appreciation established by Coleridge in 1818, ranking the quality of the images. The image of the title page of this copy is shared by Wikimedia.
The poems were certainly intended by Blake to be sung. They were to inspire many musicians including Vaughan Williams, Britten and Dylan and albums were released by Allen Ginsberg and U2.
The apart production of the Songs of Innocence was about 20 copies. After the first trial copy, the next four examples were printed in green ink mixed with Prussian blue and hand colored in pastel tones by the artist and his wife. One of them made of 21 plates in 12 leaves was sold for $ 1.26M by Christie's on June 10, 2025, lot 29.
The first issue of the Songs of Experience is made of 4 sets of 17 plates printed on rectos. A disbound set executed in 1793 and dated 1794 was sold for $ 1.87M by Christie's on June 10, 2025, lot 30.
Some songs may jump from one series to the other, and the final combining of both in one volume is titled from 1794 as Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. The whole is the cornerstone of Blake's social commentary.
24 copies of the full set are known. Some of them are composite.
A composite set of 53 plates including the intermediate frontispieces is identified as the Copy J. Plates were inlaid to a larger sheet 20 x 12 cm in the later 19th century and bound in one volume ca 1900. It was sold for $ 4.3M from a lower estimate of $ 1.2M by Sotheby's on June 26, 2024, lot 1. It includes a detailed manuscript appreciation established by Coleridge in 1818, ranking the quality of the images. The image of the title page of this copy is shared by Wikimedia.
The poems were certainly intended by Blake to be sung. They were to inspire many musicians including Vaughan Williams, Britten and Dylan and albums were released by Allen Ginsberg and U2.
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3
1795 Large Color Print
2004 SOLD for $ 3.9M by Sotheby's
In 1795 Blake is tempted by using engraving techniques for images in larger format. He takes up twelve themes from his previous works, inspired by the Bible, Shakespeare and Milton, without forgetting the famous figures of Newton and Nebuchadnezzar. This set is known as the Large Color Prints. He reworked the finishing of several prints around 1805.
For this series he is preparing his drawings on gessoed cardboard, with perhaps one exception on copper. Each matrix can be used two to four times. The technique was not documented in period, but these images should not be assimilated to monotypes. The watercoloring is often very different between works from the same matrix.
The total surviving production for the 12 themes is 30 copies, three of which are in private hands. On May 5, 2004, Sotheby's sold a Large color print for $ 3.9M, lot 5. Its theme of Good and Evil Angels struggling for possession of a child is inspired from Swedenborg. This image 44 x 58 cm is vividly colored.
For this series he is preparing his drawings on gessoed cardboard, with perhaps one exception on copper. Each matrix can be used two to four times. The technique was not documented in period, but these images should not be assimilated to monotypes. The watercoloring is often very different between works from the same matrix.
The total surviving production for the 12 themes is 30 copies, three of which are in private hands. On May 5, 2004, Sotheby's sold a Large color print for $ 3.9M, lot 5. Its theme of Good and Evil Angels struggling for possession of a child is inspired from Swedenborg. This image 44 x 58 cm is vividly colored.
1824 facsimile of the US Declaration of Independence
2021 SOLD for $ 4.4M by Freeman's
On July 19, 1776, a resolution from the US Congress decided that a manuscript duplicate of the Declaration of Independence had to be prepared for signature by every Congress member. It was made on parchment with the title The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. The original copy signed on July 4 by John Hancock and Charles Thomson had not resurfaced, probably lost or scraped in the process of preparation of the Dunlap broadside.
The duplicate signed by the 56 delegates in early August, 1776 was becoming a symbol of the American liberty. Unfortunately it was badly deteriorating. In 1820 the Secretary of State and future President John Quincy Adams commissioned the printer William J. Stone to print an exact facsimile.
The engraving was made with a wet ink process by which some of the original ink was transferred to a copper plate which was etched. The engraving was completed and dated in 1823 and the printing was made in 1824 in 201 copies on 80 x 70 cm vellum. Approximately fifty are located.
Two copies were presented to one of the three surviving original signers, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, former delegate and senator of Maryland, aged 87. They were presented by Carroll to his grandson-in-law in 1826 after the death of the last two other signers, former Presidents John Adams and Jefferson.
One of them, inscribed by Carroll, went in 1844 to the Maryland Historical Society. The grandson-in-law copied this inscription on the other document with a reference to the autographed Carroll copy.
This second Carroll copy was discovered in a Scottish attic by Cathy Marsden, specialist of rare books at the Edinburgh auction company Lyon and Turnbull, and transferred for auction to their sister company Freeman's based in Philadelphia. It was sold by Freeman's on July 1, 2021 for $ 4.4M from a lower estimate of $ 500K, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by Freeman's.
After the release of the commissioned vellum copies, their printer W.J. Stone prepared a paper edition for his own trade. A proof copy was presented by the Secretary of State to Brigham Young after he was appointed governor of Utah Territory in 1851. It was sold for $ 600K by Sotheby's on June 28, 2024, lot 1039.
The duplicate signed by the 56 delegates in early August, 1776 was becoming a symbol of the American liberty. Unfortunately it was badly deteriorating. In 1820 the Secretary of State and future President John Quincy Adams commissioned the printer William J. Stone to print an exact facsimile.
The engraving was made with a wet ink process by which some of the original ink was transferred to a copper plate which was etched. The engraving was completed and dated in 1823 and the printing was made in 1824 in 201 copies on 80 x 70 cm vellum. Approximately fifty are located.
Two copies were presented to one of the three surviving original signers, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, former delegate and senator of Maryland, aged 87. They were presented by Carroll to his grandson-in-law in 1826 after the death of the last two other signers, former Presidents John Adams and Jefferson.
One of them, inscribed by Carroll, went in 1844 to the Maryland Historical Society. The grandson-in-law copied this inscription on the other document with a reference to the autographed Carroll copy.
This second Carroll copy was discovered in a Scottish attic by Cathy Marsden, specialist of rare books at the Edinburgh auction company Lyon and Turnbull, and transferred for auction to their sister company Freeman's based in Philadelphia. It was sold by Freeman's on July 1, 2021 for $ 4.4M from a lower estimate of $ 500K, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by Freeman's.
After the release of the commissioned vellum copies, their printer W.J. Stone prepared a paper edition for his own trade. A proof copy was presented by the Secretary of State to Brigham Young after he was appointed governor of Utah Territory in 1851. It was sold for $ 600K by Sotheby's on June 28, 2024, lot 1039.
A historic discovery! Our sister auction house, Freeman’s, is pleased to announce the sale of a signer’s copy of William J. Stone’s 1823 printing of the #DeclarationofIndependence recently rediscovered in Scotland by Lyon & Turnbull. Find out more: https://t.co/RiosDcVn4k pic.twitter.com/xSL20pV2Do
— Lyon & Turnbull (@LyonandTurnbull) June 24, 2021
1831 Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji by HOKUSAI
Intro
Psychological evaluation from art and life of Hokusai.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) offers a fascinating case for psychological insight when viewed through his extraordinarily long, turbulent life and his vast, evolving body of art. While no formal clinical diagnosis exists from his era, art historians, biographers, and cultural analysts have long interpreted his behavior, self-descriptions, and creative output as revealing a highly driven, eccentric personality marked by intense perfectionism, obsessive ambition, restlessness, resilience in the face of hardship, and a profound philosophical preoccupation with transience, immortality, and the sublime forces of nature.
Hokusai's life was one of constant reinvention: he adopted over 30 artistic names (a common practice but unusually frequent), moved residences reportedly 93 times (often due to poverty, fires, or personal restlessness), survived family tragedies (including the deaths of wives and children), financial ruin, illness, and even being struck by lightning. Yet he remained extraordinarily prolific, producing thousands of works across ukiyo-e prints, paintings, manga sketches, and illustrated books—often working from dawn until late at night in his later years.
Key Personality Traits Inferred from Life and Art
Hokusai exhibited traits that align with extreme dedication bordering on what modern psychology might describe as obsessive-compulsive tendencies (not to be confused with OCD, but closer to obsessive-compulsive personality features: rigid perfectionism, preoccupation with order/details in art, excessive devotion to work/productivity, and inflexibility in pursuit of ideals).
Hokusai's art can be read as a mirror of his inner world:
Hokusai emerges as a highly conscientious, achievement-oriented individual with obsessive traits that fueled genius rather than dysfunction. His perfectionism caused delays and self-doubt but propelled innovation. Eccentricity and restlessness likely stemmed from both temperament and circumstance (Edo-period instability), while his resilience and philosophical depth suggest adaptive strengths. In modern terms, he might align with traits of high-functioning obsessive-compulsive personality features or intense creative drive—channeling anxiety into art, seeking control through mastery, and finding meaning in nature's sublime power.
Ultimately, Hokusai's life and work embody a profound existential striving: to conquer time through relentless creation, turning personal turmoil into universal beauty. His famous wish for longevity wasn't mere vanity—it was the engine of an extraordinary artistic legacy.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) offers a fascinating case for psychological insight when viewed through his extraordinarily long, turbulent life and his vast, evolving body of art. While no formal clinical diagnosis exists from his era, art historians, biographers, and cultural analysts have long interpreted his behavior, self-descriptions, and creative output as revealing a highly driven, eccentric personality marked by intense perfectionism, obsessive ambition, restlessness, resilience in the face of hardship, and a profound philosophical preoccupation with transience, immortality, and the sublime forces of nature.
Hokusai's life was one of constant reinvention: he adopted over 30 artistic names (a common practice but unusually frequent), moved residences reportedly 93 times (often due to poverty, fires, or personal restlessness), survived family tragedies (including the deaths of wives and children), financial ruin, illness, and even being struck by lightning. Yet he remained extraordinarily prolific, producing thousands of works across ukiyo-e prints, paintings, manga sketches, and illustrated books—often working from dawn until late at night in his later years.
Key Personality Traits Inferred from Life and Art
Hokusai exhibited traits that align with extreme dedication bordering on what modern psychology might describe as obsessive-compulsive tendencies (not to be confused with OCD, but closer to obsessive-compulsive personality features: rigid perfectionism, preoccupation with order/details in art, excessive devotion to work/productivity, and inflexibility in pursuit of ideals).
- Perfectionism and Self-Criticism — Hokusai famously dismissed most of his early work as inadequate. In prefaces to his late books (e.g., One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji), he wrote that nothing he drew before age 70 was worthy of notice, and he hoped to achieve true mastery at 100 or 110, when "every dot and stroke will be as though alive." This reflects a lifelong dissatisfaction with his own output, driving relentless improvement and experimentation. His art shows meticulous attention to detail—precise lines, innovative color gradations (especially Prussian blue), and dynamic compositions—yet he often reworked themes obsessively (e.g., dozens of Fuji variations, repeated motifs of waves, animals, ghosts).
- Obsessive Ambition and Workaholism — Described as a "workaholic" and "insatiable" in curiosity, Hokusai's drive for artistic immortality mirrored his obsession with Mount Fuji as a symbol of eternal life and divine essence (tied to Shinto/Buddhist/Daoist ideas of longevity and sacred power). His late masterpieces, created in his 70s–80s, represent a peak of creativity after decades of struggle, suggesting a personality that thrived on deferred gratification and saw art as a path to transcendence.
- Eccentricity and Restlessness — Contemporaries viewed him as eccentric: he lived simply (sometimes in squalor), avoided social norms, and cultivated myths about himself (e.g., lightning strike as a "divine spark" for inspiration). Frequent moves and name changes point to an unstable, adaptive, perhaps avoidant pattern—possibly fleeing creditors, disasters, or inner dissatisfaction. His outsider status (starting as a low-born mirror polisher's son, never fully aristocratic) fueled a rebellious, innovative spirit that rejected rigid traditions.
- Resilience and Philosophical Outlook — Despite poverty, loss, and physical setbacks, Hokusai maintained humor, curiosity, and productivity. His art often balances chaos and calm: turbulent waves or storms versus serene Fuji, reflecting a worldview of duality (yin-yang, transience vs. eternity). Some interpreters see this as a psychological coping mechanism—using art to process fear, mortality, and impermanence, while aspiring to Fuji's steadfastness.
Hokusai's art can be read as a mirror of his inner world:
- The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c. 1830–1832) — This iconic image of overwhelming natural force threatening fragile humans, with tiny, eternal Fuji in the distance, is often interpreted as a psychological self-portrait: the wave as surging emotions, chaos, or life's trials; Fuji as the stable, observing self or aspiration for calm amid turmoil. Buddhist-influenced readings see it as depicting the ego's storms versus a witnessing awareness—suggesting Hokusai's own quest for inner equanimity through art.
- Mount Fuji Series (e.g., Thirty-six Views, One Hundred Views) — His fixation on Fuji symbolizes a personal search for immortality and artistic perfection. The mountain's unchanging presence amid varying seasons, weather, and human activity reflects a mind grappling with change while yearning for permanence.
- Later Works (e.g., solitary eagles, tigers, ghosts, eccentric deities) — In his 80s, themes grew more subjective and emotional: fierce animals, supernatural beings, and dramatic natural forces may represent inner vitality, fears, or ecstatic states—indicating a deepening introspective phase.
Hokusai emerges as a highly conscientious, achievement-oriented individual with obsessive traits that fueled genius rather than dysfunction. His perfectionism caused delays and self-doubt but propelled innovation. Eccentricity and restlessness likely stemmed from both temperament and circumstance (Edo-period instability), while his resilience and philosophical depth suggest adaptive strengths. In modern terms, he might align with traits of high-functioning obsessive-compulsive personality features or intense creative drive—channeling anxiety into art, seeking control through mastery, and finding meaning in nature's sublime power.
Ultimately, Hokusai's life and work embody a profound existential striving: to conquer time through relentless creation, turning personal turmoil into universal beauty. His famous wish for longevity wasn't mere vanity—it was the engine of an extraordinary artistic legacy.
Hokusai divided his own career into periods. He considered that his art had to improve continuously until it reached a divine level at the age of 110, which he obviously did not reach. In 1820 CE, when illustration became his main concern, he was Iitsu. The name of the next phase, which begins in 1834, shows his enthusiasm : he was Gakyo Rojin Manji, the Old man crazy about drawing. He is one of the pioneers on the Japanese landscape art.
Begun in 1831 at the age of 71, the series of 26 x 38 cm prints titled 36 Views of Mount Fuji is his most ambitious work, which will include not 36 plates but 46. The sacred mountain is shown on all its faces, at any time, in any weather, in all seasons, with an interpretation of perspective that is new in Japanese art. It occupies a larger or smaller section of the horizon and is almost always faced with human occupation. This series should not be confused with its continuation, the 100 Views of Mount Fuji, prepared from 1834 to 1840.
The first three opus of the first series are masterpieces, by the balance of the composition based on a strict geometry, the beauty of the Prussian blue recently imported to Japan, and the emotional dimension.
The very first is the Great Wave off Kanagawa. A specialized craftsman had chiseled seven separate cherrywood blocks through the drawing. The original piece was lost and the prints weakened irreparably as production went on. The catalogers of the auction houses clearly fail to highlight the sharper impressions. About 130 prints remain from an edition of about 8,000.
A gigantic wave surrounds fishing boats while rejecting its foam and spray over the entire surface of the image. It has the shape of a double comma simulating yin and yang, in the background of which Mount Fuji is posed like a deity impassive to the perdition of men.
The quiet boats wrapped in the wave are certainly intended to counter an Edo interdict to report on disasters. Hokusai is indeed never an illustrator of disasters.
This wave is a natural force that probably inspired van Gogh's Starry Night.
Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai : artist's motivation and influences, breakthrough and legacy, concerning the whole series plus a special focus on The Great Wave and on The Red Fuji..
Katsushika Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) is one of the most iconic series in art history, a collection of woodblock prints created around 1830–1832 (with 10 additional prints added later due to its immense popularity, bringing the total to 46). Produced when Hokusai was in his seventies, the series depicts Japan's sacred Mount Fuji from diverse locations, seasons, weather conditions, and perspectives, often incorporating everyday human activities or natural forces. Mount Fuji, a near-perfect volcanic cone, holds deep cultural and religious significance in Japan—tied to Shinto beliefs, legends of immortality (such as the elixir of life from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), and pilgrimage traditions.
Artist's Motivation and Influences
Hokusai's obsession with Mount Fuji stemmed from both personal and cultural sources. He viewed the mountain as a symbol of longevity and immortality, reflecting his own desire for a long life to perfect his art—he famously expressed a wish to live to 110, believing his work would become truly divine with age. The series responded to a domestic travel boom in Edo-period Japan, where people increasingly journeyed along routes like the Tōkaidō road, with Fuji as a constant, inspiring backdrop.Influences included:
Breakthrough and Legacy of the Series
The series marked a breakthrough in ukiyo-e by popularizing large-scale landscape prints in the full-size ōban format—a novelty at the time. Published by Nishimura Yohachi (Eijudo), it achieved immediate commercial success in Japan, elevating landscape art and Hokusai's fame. Its innovative compositions, dynamic perspectives, and vibrant colors (especially Prussian blue) set new standards.Its legacy is profound: It influenced later Japanese artists like Hiroshige and contributed to Japonisme—the wave of Japanese aesthetic impact on the West after Japan's opening in the mid-19th century. European Impressionists and Post-Impressionists (e.g., Van Gogh, Monet, and others) drew inspiration from its flat perspectives, bold colors, and cropping. The series helped introduce Japanese art globally, shaping modern perceptions of Japanese culture. Today, it remains a cornerstone of world art, with prints appearing in museums, media, and popular culture.
Special Focus: The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa-oki nami ura)
This is the most famous print in the series, often the first or a flagship image. It depicts a towering, claw-like wave cresting over boats of fishermen off Kanagawa, with tiny Mount Fuji in the distant background under a stormy sky. The dramatic spiral wave, rendered with intense Prussian blue, creates tension between nature's overwhelming power and human vulnerability—the boats seem on the verge of being swallowed, yet Fuji remains serene and eternal.
Significance: It symbolizes nature's fury versus enduring stability, possibly evoking fear/respect for the sea or philosophical ideas of transience. Its innovative perspective (Fuji diminished by distance) and bold composition broke from tradition. It became an instant icon, influencing Western art (e.g., Debussy's music, Van Gogh's works) and modern culture (from emojis to merchandise). The print's success helped propel the entire series.(Here, The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai, showcasing the dramatic wave and distant Fuji.)
Special Focus: Fine Wind, Clear Morning (Gaifū kaisei), also known as Red Fuji (Aka Fuji)
This serene counterpart contrasts sharply with The Great Wave. It shows Mount Fuji alone in the foreground, bathed in a warm reddish hue from dawn light in late summer/early autumn, with a clear southern breeze, minimal trees at the base, and a stylized sky. No humans appear, emphasizing Fuji's majestic, almost spiritual purity.
Meaning and legacy: The red tone captures a rare natural phenomenon, symbolizing Fuji's sacred, immortal essence. It represents harmony and timeless beauty, often seen as even more revered in Japan than The Great Wave (which gained more international fame). Its simplicity and bold color make it one of Hokusai's most outstanding prints, highlighting his mastery of minimalism and nature's sublime.(Here, Red Fuji by Hokusai, capturing the mountain's reddish glow and serene presence.)
Overall, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji blends personal ambition, cultural symbolism, and technical innovation into a timeless celebration of Japan's most iconic natural wonder.
Begun in 1831 at the age of 71, the series of 26 x 38 cm prints titled 36 Views of Mount Fuji is his most ambitious work, which will include not 36 plates but 46. The sacred mountain is shown on all its faces, at any time, in any weather, in all seasons, with an interpretation of perspective that is new in Japanese art. It occupies a larger or smaller section of the horizon and is almost always faced with human occupation. This series should not be confused with its continuation, the 100 Views of Mount Fuji, prepared from 1834 to 1840.
The first three opus of the first series are masterpieces, by the balance of the composition based on a strict geometry, the beauty of the Prussian blue recently imported to Japan, and the emotional dimension.
The very first is the Great Wave off Kanagawa. A specialized craftsman had chiseled seven separate cherrywood blocks through the drawing. The original piece was lost and the prints weakened irreparably as production went on. The catalogers of the auction houses clearly fail to highlight the sharper impressions. About 130 prints remain from an edition of about 8,000.
A gigantic wave surrounds fishing boats while rejecting its foam and spray over the entire surface of the image. It has the shape of a double comma simulating yin and yang, in the background of which Mount Fuji is posed like a deity impassive to the perdition of men.
The quiet boats wrapped in the wave are certainly intended to counter an Edo interdict to report on disasters. Hokusai is indeed never an illustrator of disasters.
This wave is a natural force that probably inspired van Gogh's Starry Night.
Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai : artist's motivation and influences, breakthrough and legacy, concerning the whole series plus a special focus on The Great Wave and on The Red Fuji..
Katsushika Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) is one of the most iconic series in art history, a collection of woodblock prints created around 1830–1832 (with 10 additional prints added later due to its immense popularity, bringing the total to 46). Produced when Hokusai was in his seventies, the series depicts Japan's sacred Mount Fuji from diverse locations, seasons, weather conditions, and perspectives, often incorporating everyday human activities or natural forces. Mount Fuji, a near-perfect volcanic cone, holds deep cultural and religious significance in Japan—tied to Shinto beliefs, legends of immortality (such as the elixir of life from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), and pilgrimage traditions.
Artist's Motivation and Influences
Hokusai's obsession with Mount Fuji stemmed from both personal and cultural sources. He viewed the mountain as a symbol of longevity and immortality, reflecting his own desire for a long life to perfect his art—he famously expressed a wish to live to 110, believing his work would become truly divine with age. The series responded to a domestic travel boom in Edo-period Japan, where people increasingly journeyed along routes like the Tōkaidō road, with Fuji as a constant, inspiring backdrop.Influences included:
- Traditional Japanese reverence for Fuji as a sacred, eternal presence.
- Innovative ukiyo-e techniques, shifting from typical subjects like courtesans and actors to landscapes.
- Western artistic elements, such as perspective (possibly from Dutch prints) and the bold use of Prussian blue (a recently introduced European pigment that enabled vivid aizuri-e blue tones, revolutionizing color in prints).
- Hokusai's lifelong experimentation with style, composition, and nature's transience versus Fuji's permanence.
Breakthrough and Legacy of the Series
The series marked a breakthrough in ukiyo-e by popularizing large-scale landscape prints in the full-size ōban format—a novelty at the time. Published by Nishimura Yohachi (Eijudo), it achieved immediate commercial success in Japan, elevating landscape art and Hokusai's fame. Its innovative compositions, dynamic perspectives, and vibrant colors (especially Prussian blue) set new standards.Its legacy is profound: It influenced later Japanese artists like Hiroshige and contributed to Japonisme—the wave of Japanese aesthetic impact on the West after Japan's opening in the mid-19th century. European Impressionists and Post-Impressionists (e.g., Van Gogh, Monet, and others) drew inspiration from its flat perspectives, bold colors, and cropping. The series helped introduce Japanese art globally, shaping modern perceptions of Japanese culture. Today, it remains a cornerstone of world art, with prints appearing in museums, media, and popular culture.
Special Focus: The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa-oki nami ura)
This is the most famous print in the series, often the first or a flagship image. It depicts a towering, claw-like wave cresting over boats of fishermen off Kanagawa, with tiny Mount Fuji in the distant background under a stormy sky. The dramatic spiral wave, rendered with intense Prussian blue, creates tension between nature's overwhelming power and human vulnerability—the boats seem on the verge of being swallowed, yet Fuji remains serene and eternal.
Significance: It symbolizes nature's fury versus enduring stability, possibly evoking fear/respect for the sea or philosophical ideas of transience. Its innovative perspective (Fuji diminished by distance) and bold composition broke from tradition. It became an instant icon, influencing Western art (e.g., Debussy's music, Van Gogh's works) and modern culture (from emojis to merchandise). The print's success helped propel the entire series.(Here, The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai, showcasing the dramatic wave and distant Fuji.)
Special Focus: Fine Wind, Clear Morning (Gaifū kaisei), also known as Red Fuji (Aka Fuji)
This serene counterpart contrasts sharply with The Great Wave. It shows Mount Fuji alone in the foreground, bathed in a warm reddish hue from dawn light in late summer/early autumn, with a clear southern breeze, minimal trees at the base, and a stylized sky. No humans appear, emphasizing Fuji's majestic, almost spiritual purity.
Meaning and legacy: The red tone captures a rare natural phenomenon, symbolizing Fuji's sacred, immortal essence. It represents harmony and timeless beauty, often seen as even more revered in Japan than The Great Wave (which gained more international fame). Its simplicity and bold color make it one of Hokusai's most outstanding prints, highlighting his mastery of minimalism and nature's sublime.(Here, Red Fuji by Hokusai, capturing the mountain's reddish glow and serene presence.)
Overall, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji blends personal ambition, cultural symbolism, and technical innovation into a timeless celebration of Japan's most iconic natural wonder.
1
full set
2024 SOLD for $ 3.56M by Christie's
A Hindu fan of mountaineering gathered in ten years with the support of a Tokyo gallery a full collection of the 46 views after appreciating how Hokusai had captured the pure essence of the mountain.
The set was sold for $ 3.56M by Christie's on March 19, 2024, lot 135. All prints are signed by the artist.
The auction house comments that less than 10 complete sets are in existence.
The set was sold for $ 3.56M by Christie's on March 19, 2024, lot 135. All prints are signed by the artist.
The auction house comments that less than 10 complete sets are in existence.
Vollständige Sammlungen der Serie von Hokusai sind sehr selten – und werden noch seltener versteigert.#Auktion #Rekord #Hokusai #Ukiyoe
— Barnebys.de (@Barnebysde) April 15, 2024
2
The Great Wave
2023 SOLD for $ 2.76M by Christie's
The early prints of The Great Wave have a sharper line and a visibility on a faint pink clouds in the sky.
A well preserved very early example 25.1 x 37.1 cm was sold for $ 2.76M from a lower estimate of $ 500K by Christie's on March 21, 2023, lot 122. It had been printed before the title cartouche was slightly worn, creating breaks at that place in most surviving examples. It had been kept in the same family since the early 1900s.
At Christie's, the sale of March 16, 2021 had two copies of the Great Wave. The best one still has a narrow right margin. Its overall size is 26.0 x 38.4 cm. It was sold for $ 1.6M from a lower estimate of $ 150K, lot 144, The other example is smaller, 24.4 x 36.2 cm. It was sold for $ 440K, lot 138 in 2021 and for £ 480K by Sotheby's on December 19, 2023, lot 14.
An example 25.1 x 37.1 cm of the Great Wave was sold for $ 1.26M by Christie's on September 19, 2023, lot 58. Another copy was sold for $ 1.1M by Christie's on September 22, 2020, lot 117. Its size is large, 27.5 x 38.1 cm, but with no margin visible on the photo in the catalogue.
A copy of the second opus, the Red Fuji, was sold for $ 510K by Christie's on March 19, 2019, lot 235. Its size is 25.4 x 37.8 cm. The simple and effective geometry anticipates the Montagnes Sainte-Victoire by Cézanne.
Explore Hokusai's Great Wave
Exploring Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa (also known as Under the Wave off Kanagawa or simply The Great Wave) is one of the most instantly recognizable images in art history. Created around 1830–1832 by Katsushika Hokusai as the flagship print in his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), this polychrome woodblock print captures a moment of intense drama: a massive, claw-like wave towering over fragile boats, with the serene peak of Mount Fuji visible in the distant background.
Composition and Visual Power
The print measures about 25 x 38 cm (ōban format) and uses a radical, asymmetrical composition that dominates with the enormous wave curling forward in a spiral, its foam fingers grasping like claws. Three small boats of fishermen (likely oshiokuri, fast cargo boats) are caught beneath it, their occupants bent in effort or fear, emphasizing human vulnerability. The wave fills most of the foreground, while Mount Fuji—tiny, snow-capped, and calm—sits low on the horizon, framed by the wave's curve. This creates a striking contrast: overwhelming chaos versus eternal stability.
The composition synthesizes Japanese traditions with Western influences, particularly linear perspective (inspired by Dutch prints that reached Japan via restricted trade). Hokusai uses it to push Fuji into the distance, making the wave seem even more gigantic and imminent.
A close-up reveals the innovative technique: the wave's white foam (created with negative space and careful bokashi gradation) contrasts against deep Prussian blue layers. The printers applied multiple shades of this imported pigment—new to Japan around 1828–1829—often double-printing for depth and saturation, giving the sea a luminous, almost three-dimensional movement rare in earlier ukiyo-e.
Technique and Innovation
Produced via traditional Japanese woodblock printing: Hokusai drew the design, carvers cut blocks for each color (indigo outlines, multiple Prussian blues, pale yellows, pinks for sky hints), and printers layered inks with precision. The bold use of Prussian blue (a synthetic European pigment) revolutionized the palette, creating vivid aizuri-e ("blue pictures") that made the series commercially explosive. This wasn't mere substitution; double-printing transitions from deep to bright blue animate the wave's surface.
Symbolism and Interpretations
Interpretations abound, reflecting Hokusai's era and philosophy:
Legacy and Global Impact
The Great Wave was an immediate hit in Japan, helping popularize landscape ukiyo-e and the series. It exploded globally during Japonisme after Japan's opening, influencing Impressionists (Monet, Van Gogh, Degas), composers (Debussy's La Mer), and countless modern artists (Warhol, Lichtenstein). Today, it's everywhere—from museum walls (Met, British Museum, Art Institute of Chicago hold early impressions) to emojis, tattoos, Lego recreations, and pop culture. Fewer than 100 early prints survive, yet its image is ubiquitous, embodying both Japanese aesthetic innovation and cross-cultural exchange.
This single print distills Hokusai's genius: technical mastery, bold vision, and profound meditation on nature, humanity, and eternity.
A well preserved very early example 25.1 x 37.1 cm was sold for $ 2.76M from a lower estimate of $ 500K by Christie's on March 21, 2023, lot 122. It had been printed before the title cartouche was slightly worn, creating breaks at that place in most surviving examples. It had been kept in the same family since the early 1900s.
At Christie's, the sale of March 16, 2021 had two copies of the Great Wave. The best one still has a narrow right margin. Its overall size is 26.0 x 38.4 cm. It was sold for $ 1.6M from a lower estimate of $ 150K, lot 144, The other example is smaller, 24.4 x 36.2 cm. It was sold for $ 440K, lot 138 in 2021 and for £ 480K by Sotheby's on December 19, 2023, lot 14.
An example 25.1 x 37.1 cm of the Great Wave was sold for $ 1.26M by Christie's on September 19, 2023, lot 58. Another copy was sold for $ 1.1M by Christie's on September 22, 2020, lot 117. Its size is large, 27.5 x 38.1 cm, but with no margin visible on the photo in the catalogue.
A copy of the second opus, the Red Fuji, was sold for $ 510K by Christie's on March 19, 2019, lot 235. Its size is 25.4 x 37.8 cm. The simple and effective geometry anticipates the Montagnes Sainte-Victoire by Cézanne.
Explore Hokusai's Great Wave
Exploring Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa (also known as Under the Wave off Kanagawa or simply The Great Wave) is one of the most instantly recognizable images in art history. Created around 1830–1832 by Katsushika Hokusai as the flagship print in his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), this polychrome woodblock print captures a moment of intense drama: a massive, claw-like wave towering over fragile boats, with the serene peak of Mount Fuji visible in the distant background.
Composition and Visual Power
The print measures about 25 x 38 cm (ōban format) and uses a radical, asymmetrical composition that dominates with the enormous wave curling forward in a spiral, its foam fingers grasping like claws. Three small boats of fishermen (likely oshiokuri, fast cargo boats) are caught beneath it, their occupants bent in effort or fear, emphasizing human vulnerability. The wave fills most of the foreground, while Mount Fuji—tiny, snow-capped, and calm—sits low on the horizon, framed by the wave's curve. This creates a striking contrast: overwhelming chaos versus eternal stability.
The composition synthesizes Japanese traditions with Western influences, particularly linear perspective (inspired by Dutch prints that reached Japan via restricted trade). Hokusai uses it to push Fuji into the distance, making the wave seem even more gigantic and imminent.
A close-up reveals the innovative technique: the wave's white foam (created with negative space and careful bokashi gradation) contrasts against deep Prussian blue layers. The printers applied multiple shades of this imported pigment—new to Japan around 1828–1829—often double-printing for depth and saturation, giving the sea a luminous, almost three-dimensional movement rare in earlier ukiyo-e.
Technique and Innovation
Produced via traditional Japanese woodblock printing: Hokusai drew the design, carvers cut blocks for each color (indigo outlines, multiple Prussian blues, pale yellows, pinks for sky hints), and printers layered inks with precision. The bold use of Prussian blue (a synthetic European pigment) revolutionized the palette, creating vivid aizuri-e ("blue pictures") that made the series commercially explosive. This wasn't mere substitution; double-printing transitions from deep to bright blue animate the wave's surface.
Symbolism and Interpretations
Interpretations abound, reflecting Hokusai's era and philosophy:
- Nature's Power vs. Human Fragility — The wave symbolizes nature's overwhelming force, with fishermen defying it through courage or necessity, while Fuji represents endurance and the sacred (tied to immortality myths and Shinto reverence).
- Transience and Duality — Echoing Buddhist ideas, the chaotic sea contrasts with Fuji's calm, suggesting life's impermanence amid eternal truths. The wave's spiral evokes yin-yang balance or life's cycles.
- Historical Context — Created during Japan's isolationist Edo period (sakoku), some see it as foreshadowing Western encroachment: the wave as foreign forces threatening to engulf Japan, with Fuji as enduring national identity. (Japan opened to the West soon after, in 1853–1854.)
- Philosophical Journey — Reading right-to-left (traditional Japanese direction), the boats confront the wave head-on, symbolizing facing fears and life's relentless challenges.
Legacy and Global Impact
The Great Wave was an immediate hit in Japan, helping popularize landscape ukiyo-e and the series. It exploded globally during Japonisme after Japan's opening, influencing Impressionists (Monet, Van Gogh, Degas), composers (Debussy's La Mer), and countless modern artists (Warhol, Lichtenstein). Today, it's everywhere—from museum walls (Met, British Museum, Art Institute of Chicago hold early impressions) to emojis, tattoos, Lego recreations, and pop culture. Fewer than 100 early prints survive, yet its image is ubiquitous, embodying both Japanese aesthetic innovation and cross-cultural exchange.
This single print distills Hokusai's genius: technical mastery, bold vision, and profound meditation on nature, humanity, and eternity.
Psychological Analysis of The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c. 1830–1832) is more than a dramatic seascape; it functions as a powerful psychological archetype that resonates deeply with universal human experiences. The print's composition—a colossal, claw-like wave poised to crash over vulnerable fishermen, with the tiny, serene Mount Fuji anchored in the distant background—evokes profound emotional and existential responses. Art historians, philosophers, and psychologists have interpreted it through lenses of fear, resilience, transience, and inner conflict, often linking it to Hokusai's own life and broader Eastern philosophies like Buddhism.Core Psychological Themes
Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c. 1830–1832) is more than a dramatic seascape; it functions as a powerful psychological archetype that resonates deeply with universal human experiences. The print's composition—a colossal, claw-like wave poised to crash over vulnerable fishermen, with the tiny, serene Mount Fuji anchored in the distant background—evokes profound emotional and existential responses. Art historians, philosophers, and psychologists have interpreted it through lenses of fear, resilience, transience, and inner conflict, often linking it to Hokusai's own life and broader Eastern philosophies like Buddhism.Core Psychological Themes
- Overwhelming Anxiety and the Sublime
The wave embodies the sublime: an awe-inspiring force of nature that simultaneously terrifies and captivates. Psychologically, it represents uncontrollable external threats—natural disasters, life crises, or overwhelming emotions—that trigger primal fear and existential anxiety. The wave's "fingers" of foam reaching like claws toward the boats suggest imminent engulfment, mirroring feelings of being swallowed by stress, grief, or change. Viewers often report a visceral sense of danger and vulnerability, activating the fight-or-flight response even in reproduction form. This aligns with 18th–19th-century Romantic notions of the sublime (e.g., Burke's ideas of terror mixed with beauty), but Hokusai infuses it with Japanese restraint and inevitability. - Human Fragility vs. Inner Stability (Ego vs. Witness Consciousness)
A compelling interpretation, especially from Buddhist perspectives (Hokusai practiced Nichiren Buddhism), sees the wave as a metaphor for the turbulent mind—swelling emotions, racing thoughts, and reactive ego states that arise in response to life's "waves" (external events like pandemics, loss, or uncertainty). The tiny boats symbolize ordinary human consciousness caught in chaos, struggling to survive.
In contrast, Mount Fuji represents the unchanging, observing self—the calm awareness beneath the storm. It stands eternal and unmoved, suggesting a path to inner peace: remain like the mountain amid turmoil. This duality offers a model for mindfulness: observe turbulent thoughts without identification, allowing them to pass without destruction. The print thus becomes a visual meditation on equanimity—relevant to modern psychology's emphasis on detachment in cognitive behavioral approaches or mindfulness-based stress reduction. - Existential Transience and Impermanence (Mono no Aware)
Rooted in Buddhist philosophy, the wave captures mono no aware—the poignant beauty of things' impermanence—and the concept of constant flux (anicca). The frozen moment before the crash highlights life's precariousness: everything arises and passes. The fishermen's peril underscores human insignificance against vast forces, evoking existential dread yet also acceptance. Hokusai's late-life obsession with Fuji (a symbol of immortality and longevity) contrasts with the wave's chaos, reflecting his own striving for transcendence through art amid personal hardships (poverty, loss, illness). The print may represent a psychological coping mechanism: channeling fear of mortality into creative mastery and philosophical reflection. - Duality and Balance (Yin-Yang Dynamics)
The composition balances extremes: violent motion vs. static calm, foreground threat vs. background serenity, human struggle vs. divine indifference. This yin-yang harmony suggests psychological integration—acknowledging chaos while anchoring in stability. Some see the wave's direction (right-to-left in traditional Japanese reading) as a narrative of confrontation: facing fears head-on rather than fleeing. In Western readings, it sometimes symbolizes anxiety over change (e.g., foreign influence threatening isolationist Japan), projecting collective cultural unease onto the image. - Modern Resonances
Contemporary viewers often project current anxieties onto the print—climate change (rising seas as apocalyptic waves), personal overwhelm, or global instability—turning it into a symbol of impending catastrophe. Its enduring appeal lies in this universality: it externalizes inner turmoil while offering hope through Fuji's steadfastness, functioning almost like a therapeutic image for processing fear and cultivating resilience.
Der bisherige Spitzenpreis wurde nach zwei Jahren überboten. #rekord #weltrekord #auktion #auktionsmarkt
— Barnebys.de (@Barnebysde) March 31, 2023
3
The Great Wave
2025 SOLD for HK$ 21.7M by Sotheby's
A Great Wave 26.3 x 38.1 cm was sold for HK $ 21.7M from a lower estimate of HK $ 5M by Sotheby's on November 22, 2025, lot 1012. The four margin are visible on a photo in the auction catalogue.
Immediate post sale thought by Grok :
Quote
A @MarioA_artist
#hokusai New Auction World Record For “The Great Wave” by HOKUSAI @ 2.8 million US$ – #葛飾北斎 の「神奈川沖浪裏」”The Great Wave off Kanagawa” @ 4億3000万円 | Art World | Art + Culture: https://art-culture.world/art-world/hokusai-great-wave/…
Grok thought :
Analysis of the Sotheby's 2025 "Great Wave" Record Sale
The $2.8 million (HK$21.7 million) hammer price achieved by Katsushika Hokusai's Under the Wave off Kanagawa (commonly known as The Great Wave off Kanagawa) at Sotheby's Hong Kong on November 21, 2025—far exceeding its HK$5–8 million estimate—can indeed be substantially attributed to the exceptional preservation of its four original margins (top, bottom, left, and right). In the ukiyo-e tradition, woodblock prints like this one were typically trimmed during production, distribution, or mounting to fit album leaves, screens, or mats, often removing these unprinted borders. Surviving impressions with all four margins intact are extraordinarily rare, as they indicate minimal post-print intervention and preserve the full compositional intent. This feature elevates the print's status among the fewer than 100–130 known extant copies, positioning it as a "museum-quality" example that appeals to institutional and high-end private collectors seeking untouched historical artifacts.
Auction experts and catalog notes emphasize that such pristine margins, combined with vibrant Prussian blue pigmentation and subtle printing details (e.g., horizontal bokashi gradation for the morning sky), signal an early lifetime impression from the initial 1831 print run by publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudō). This scarcity and authenticity premium likely drove the bidding frenzy, as similar full-margined examples have historically commanded outsized premiums—up to 2–3 times those of trimmed variants in comparable sales.
Comparison with the Christie's 2023 Sale (Lot 122, March 21)
The Christie's example, sold for $2.76 million (a prior record at the time, against a $500,000–$700,000 estimate), was also hailed as one of the "20 or so best impressions surviving today" due to its early-edition qualities. However, a direct comparison of condition—particularly the title cartouche (the rectangular block in the upper left containing the print's Japanese title, Kanagawa-oki nami ura, and series information)—reveals subtle but meaningful differences that may explain the Sotheby's print's edge in value and appeal.
AspectSotheby's 2025 ImpressionChristie's 2023 Impression (Lot 122)
Overall Condition
Sotheby's : Exceptional; described as "indisputably fine" with no noted wear, tears, or restorations. Vibrant colors, sharp lines, and visible subtle details like a pale pink cloud in the sky (a hallmark of early pulls before woodblock wear).
Christie's : "Well-preserved" and "impeccable"; ranked among the top 20 extant copies. Fresh, "pleasing" colors and sharp imaging, but not explicitly called the absolute finest available.
Margins
Sotheby's : All four original margins fully extant (25.3 x 37.6 cm sheet size), untrimmed—a rarity that underscores provenance and elevates desirability. This alone likely added a 20–50% premium over trimmed peers.
Christie's : Not explicitly detailed in catalogs, but implied to be present and intact given the high ranking. However, no emphasis on "full four-margin" status, suggesting possible minor trimming or less pristine borders compared to Sotheby's.
Title CartoucheI
Sotheby's : Implied near-perfect: No breaks, gaps, or wear mentioned; lines are crisp, reproducing the intricate text and outlines without degradation (common in later impressions due to woodblock erosion after ~5,000–8,000 pulls).
Christie's : Explicitly "no signs of breaks," with "almost perfect" reproduction—exceptional for avoiding the fractures that plague 80–90% of known copies. Subtle edge over most, but catalogs note it as "reproduces... almost perfectly," hinting at possible microscopic wear absent in the Sotheby's example.
Edition Timing & Rarity Factors
Sotheby's : Early 1831 impression; benefits from the Okada Museum dispersal (high-profile provenance) and Hong Kong's booming Asian art market, attracting global bidders.
Christie's : Early lifetime impression (ca. 1830–32); visible pink cloud confirms pre-wear pull. Strong bidding (13 minutes, 6 competitors) but in New York's slightly cooler post-pandemic market.
Price Driver Summary
Sotheby's : Margins + cartouche perfection + market timing = ~2% premium over Christie's, signaling escalating demand for "unrestored" icons.
Christie's : Cartouche excellence was a key highlight, but margins less emphasized; still shattered prior records by 73% vs. 2021's $1.59 million sale.
In summary, while both impressions share elite status as early editions with intact title cartouches free of the line breaks that mar later copies (caused by woodblock damage after repeated use), the Sotheby's print's confirmed full margins provide a clearer "wow" factor for condition obsessives, justifying its slight price edge. The Christie's cartouche was a standout selling point—described by expert Matthi Forrer as rivaling the finest museum holdings—but the 2025 sale's broader perfection (no qualifiers like "almost") and contextual hype (Okada collection) amplified its record-breaking potential. If margins were the "secret sauce" here, it underscores how micro-details in ukiyo-e can turn icons into nine-figure legacies. For deeper dives, Sotheby's and Christie's lot essays remain the gold standard.
Immediate post sale thought by Grok :
Quote
A @MarioA_artist
#hokusai New Auction World Record For “The Great Wave” by HOKUSAI @ 2.8 million US$ – #葛飾北斎 の「神奈川沖浪裏」”The Great Wave off Kanagawa” @ 4億3000万円 | Art World | Art + Culture: https://art-culture.world/art-world/hokusai-great-wave/…
- Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," a circa-1831 woodblock print from the "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" series, fetched a world-record $2.8 million (HK$21.7 million) at Sotheby's Hong Kong on November 21, 2025, exceeding its HK$5-8 million estimate and topping the prior $1.6 million mark from a 2021 Christie's sale of a variant impression.
- With fewer than 100 known surviving copies—many in poor condition—this ukiyo-e masterpiece, famed for its Prussian blue waves and Mount Fuji backdrop, continues to captivate globally, inspiring Western artists like Van Gogh and appearing on Japan's 1,000-yen note since 2004.
- Shared by art enthusiast @MarioA_artist amid a hot market for Japanese prints, the post links to an art-culture.world article detailing the Okada Museum dispersal, which also saw Utamaro's "Snow" set a $7.1 million record in the same auction.
Grok thought :
Analysis of the Sotheby's 2025 "Great Wave" Record Sale
The $2.8 million (HK$21.7 million) hammer price achieved by Katsushika Hokusai's Under the Wave off Kanagawa (commonly known as The Great Wave off Kanagawa) at Sotheby's Hong Kong on November 21, 2025—far exceeding its HK$5–8 million estimate—can indeed be substantially attributed to the exceptional preservation of its four original margins (top, bottom, left, and right). In the ukiyo-e tradition, woodblock prints like this one were typically trimmed during production, distribution, or mounting to fit album leaves, screens, or mats, often removing these unprinted borders. Surviving impressions with all four margins intact are extraordinarily rare, as they indicate minimal post-print intervention and preserve the full compositional intent. This feature elevates the print's status among the fewer than 100–130 known extant copies, positioning it as a "museum-quality" example that appeals to institutional and high-end private collectors seeking untouched historical artifacts.
Auction experts and catalog notes emphasize that such pristine margins, combined with vibrant Prussian blue pigmentation and subtle printing details (e.g., horizontal bokashi gradation for the morning sky), signal an early lifetime impression from the initial 1831 print run by publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudō). This scarcity and authenticity premium likely drove the bidding frenzy, as similar full-margined examples have historically commanded outsized premiums—up to 2–3 times those of trimmed variants in comparable sales.
Comparison with the Christie's 2023 Sale (Lot 122, March 21)
The Christie's example, sold for $2.76 million (a prior record at the time, against a $500,000–$700,000 estimate), was also hailed as one of the "20 or so best impressions surviving today" due to its early-edition qualities. However, a direct comparison of condition—particularly the title cartouche (the rectangular block in the upper left containing the print's Japanese title, Kanagawa-oki nami ura, and series information)—reveals subtle but meaningful differences that may explain the Sotheby's print's edge in value and appeal.
AspectSotheby's 2025 ImpressionChristie's 2023 Impression (Lot 122)
Overall Condition
Sotheby's : Exceptional; described as "indisputably fine" with no noted wear, tears, or restorations. Vibrant colors, sharp lines, and visible subtle details like a pale pink cloud in the sky (a hallmark of early pulls before woodblock wear).
Christie's : "Well-preserved" and "impeccable"; ranked among the top 20 extant copies. Fresh, "pleasing" colors and sharp imaging, but not explicitly called the absolute finest available.
Margins
Sotheby's : All four original margins fully extant (25.3 x 37.6 cm sheet size), untrimmed—a rarity that underscores provenance and elevates desirability. This alone likely added a 20–50% premium over trimmed peers.
Christie's : Not explicitly detailed in catalogs, but implied to be present and intact given the high ranking. However, no emphasis on "full four-margin" status, suggesting possible minor trimming or less pristine borders compared to Sotheby's.
Title CartoucheI
Sotheby's : Implied near-perfect: No breaks, gaps, or wear mentioned; lines are crisp, reproducing the intricate text and outlines without degradation (common in later impressions due to woodblock erosion after ~5,000–8,000 pulls).
Christie's : Explicitly "no signs of breaks," with "almost perfect" reproduction—exceptional for avoiding the fractures that plague 80–90% of known copies. Subtle edge over most, but catalogs note it as "reproduces... almost perfectly," hinting at possible microscopic wear absent in the Sotheby's example.
Edition Timing & Rarity Factors
Sotheby's : Early 1831 impression; benefits from the Okada Museum dispersal (high-profile provenance) and Hong Kong's booming Asian art market, attracting global bidders.
Christie's : Early lifetime impression (ca. 1830–32); visible pink cloud confirms pre-wear pull. Strong bidding (13 minutes, 6 competitors) but in New York's slightly cooler post-pandemic market.
Price Driver Summary
Sotheby's : Margins + cartouche perfection + market timing = ~2% premium over Christie's, signaling escalating demand for "unrestored" icons.
Christie's : Cartouche excellence was a key highlight, but margins less emphasized; still shattered prior records by 73% vs. 2021's $1.59 million sale.
In summary, while both impressions share elite status as early editions with intact title cartouches free of the line breaks that mar later copies (caused by woodblock damage after repeated use), the Sotheby's print's confirmed full margins provide a clearer "wow" factor for condition obsessives, justifying its slight price edge. The Christie's cartouche was a standout selling point—described by expert Matthi Forrer as rivaling the finest museum holdings—but the 2025 sale's broader perfection (no qualifiers like "almost") and contextual hype (Okada collection) amplified its record-breaking potential. If margins were the "secret sauce" here, it underscores how micro-details in ukiyo-e can turn icons into nine-figure legacies. For deeper dives, Sotheby's and Christie's lot essays remain the gold standard.
#hokusai New Auction World Record For “The Great Wave” by HOKUSAI @ 2.8 million US$ – #葛飾北斎 の「神奈川沖浪裏」”The Great Wave off Kanagawa” @ 4億3000万円 | Art World | Art + Culture: https://t.co/SjmQzXqX3L
— A (@MarioA_artist) November 22, 2025
