Art and design
Artist study: The Great Wave
Look closely at a study after Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, analyse formal choices and borrow an idea for an original response. This two-page A4 pack guides observation, technique discussion, sketching and reflection for pupils.
Study after Hokusai: a simple line study, not the original.
Read the complete materialRead the material
Look closely at a study after Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, analyse formal choices and borrow an idea for an original response. This two-page A4 pack guides observation, technique discussion, sketching and reflection for pupils.
Activity. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
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NAME CLASS DATE LEARNING GOAL Analyse an artist's choices, then respond with my own ideas. SUCCESS CRITERIA I can describe the print using art words. I can explain how a woodblock print is made. I can explain an artist's choices and use one. Study after Hokusai: a simple line study, not the original Katsushika Hokusai The Great Wave off Kanagawa About 1831 · Colour woodblock print on paper From the series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji”. One of the best-known Japanese prints. CLASS CATALOGUE NO. 012.1 1 LINE Where are the curving lines? Are any lines sharp? 2 SHAPE Compare the shape of the wave and the mountain. 3 COLOUR Look at the real print. Which colours do you see? 4 TONE Where are the lightest and the darkest parts? 5 TEXTURE How does the artist make the water look rough? 6 COMPOSITION Mount Fuji is small. How do you still find it? Artist study and visual analysis A R T A N D D E S I G N AG E S 1 1 TO 1 4 A R T I S T S T U DY The Great Wave Look closely, analyse, then respond to a famous print. Meet the artwork Gallery 1 1 First look Gallery 2 3 marks 2 Look quietly for one minute first. A I SEE Only what is there. B I THINK What is happening, and why? C I WONDER Ask the artist a question. The formal elements Gallery 3 6 marks 3 2 Make 3 Teacher 1 Look Page 1 of 2
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a Why do you think Hokusai made Mount Fuji so small? b How does the huge wave make you feel about the rowers? c Why must a print artist plan every line before carving? Your brief: draw something huge and near, and something small and far away. HUGE, NEAR SMALL, FAR One idea I borrow from Hokusai, and why: GO FURTHER Shade in three tones only, as if you had three blocks. Artist study and visual analysis A R T A N D D E S I G N T H E G R E AT WAV E T E C H N I Q U E A N D R E S P O N S E How it was made, and why How a woodblock print is made Archive 4 No. 1 Carve. The design is carved into a block of wood. No. 2 Ink. Ink goes onto the raised parts of the block. No. 3 Press. Paper is pressed onto the block, so the inked parts print. No. 4 Colour. A separate block is used for each colour. TECHNIQUE FILE The artist's choices Gallery 4 6 marks 5 Inspired by the wave Studio 5 marks 6 YOUR SKETCH 1 Look 3 Teacher 2 Make Page 2 of 2
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Artist study: The Great Wave Teacher companion Art and Design | Pupils aged 11 to 14 Use with the exact 2-page original file. Keep pupil or staff activity pages separate from this teacher companion. When to use it Use the pack when pupils can describe visual features and are ready to connect observation with an artist’s choices. Provide access to a reliable reproduction of the original print, since the worksheet’s illustration is a simple study rather than the artwork itself. Purpose Describe visual features, explain selected artistic and printmaking choices, and use one compositional idea in an original response. Start here Look quietly at a verified image of The Great Wave; remember the worksheet illustration is a study, not the original print. A teaching sequence 1. Use I see, I think and I wonder to record observations and questions about the print before discussing meanings. 2. Describe line, shape, colour, tone, texture and composition, pointing to details in a verified reproduction. 3. Follow the four printmaking steps on the sheet and discuss why an artist plans a design before carving. 4. Draw something huge and near beside something small and far away; name one idea borrowed from Hokusai and explain it. Ask, “Which detail in the print supports that idea?” Check it against a verified reproduction before discussing colour. Checking guidance Look for precise visual observations linked to an interpretation or artistic choice, rather than unsupported guesses about the artist’s intention. Ask: “Which detail in the print makes you think that?” Check that pupils view an actual reproduction when discussing colour; the line study on the sheet is not the original image. Ask pupils to identify one near/far size relationship in a verified reproduction, then explain how they used that compositional idea in their own drawing. Colour observations require the reproduction. Support Provide a large, clear reproduction and a short visual vocabulary list. Model one observation that points to a specific feature, then let pupils annotate or dictate before writing. Keep the three I see / I think / I wonder categories distinct. Take it further Ask pupils to compare the print’s composition with a different landscape image, then make a response that changes the scale or placement of one feature. They should identify which visual choice they borrowed and which they changed. Things to keep in mind The worksheet illustration is a simple line study, not the original print, so use a reliable reproduction when discussing the artwork’s colours or detail. Artist study: The Great Wave Teacher companion | Page 1
A teaching sequence
Describe visual features, explain selected artistic and printmaking choices, and use one compositional idea in an original response.
Study after Hokusai: a simple line study, not the original.
Read the complete materialObserve before interpreting
Use I see, I think and I wonder to separate observations, interpretations and questions. Keep the worksheet line study labelled as a study and use a verified reproduction for claims about the original print.
What can you see, and what are you only wondering?
Locate the formal elements
Describe line, shape, colour, tone, texture and composition, pointing to details in a verified reproduction.
Can you point to the detail in a reliable reproduction of the print?
Follow the printing process
Follow the four printmaking steps on the sheet and discuss why an artist plans a design before carving.
Why would a design need planning before carving?
Use scale in your response
Draw something huge and near beside something small and far away; name one idea borrowed from Hokusai and explain it. Check it against a verified reproduction before discussing colour.
How does your huge near shape compare with your small distant one?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
Look for precise visual observations linked to an interpretation or artistic choice, rather than unsupported guesses about the artist’s intention. Ask: “Which detail in the print makes you think that?” Check that pupils view an actual reproduction when discussing colour; the line study on the sheet is not the original image. Ask pupils to identify one near/far size relationship in a verified reproduction, then explain how they used that compositional idea in their own drawing. Colour observations require the reproduction.
Give a little support
Provide a large, clear reproduction and a short visual vocabulary list. Model one observation that points to a specific feature, then let pupils annotate or dictate before writing. Keep the three I see / I think / I wonder categories distinct.
Take the idea further
Ask pupils to compare the print’s composition with a different landscape image, then make a response that changes the scale or placement of one feature. They should identify which visual choice they borrowed and which they changed.
Things to keep in mind
The worksheet illustration is a simple line study, not the original print, so use a reliable reproduction when discussing the artwork’s colours or detail.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Ideas to try with your class
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet the creators whose teaching interests connect with this template. Find an approach to try with your class.
Isabel Cruz
I work from the sketchbook outward, asking pupils to keep experiments and revisions, reflect on creative choices and discuss where their images and ideas came from.
Meet the creator
Lydia Chen
I connect Art and Design analysis with making, using scaffolds that help students notice, describe and interpret their own choices and explain what they may change.
Meet the creator
Chalk & Chai
The sheet labels its first image a simple line study, not the original Great Wave. It then asks pupils to notice formal elements, learn the woodblock sequence and borrow one compositional idea for a drawing of something huge nearby and small in the distance.
Step by Step
The task links line, shape, colour, tone, texture and composition to Hokusai’s print, then connects analysis to a new response. The carve, ink, press and separate-colour-block steps give the technique question a concrete sequence.
One More Question
“I see, I think, I wonder” separates visible description from interpretation before pupils explain why Mount Fuji remains noticeable at a small scale. The three-tone extension also offers a bounded making task after the written analysis.
Pencil Case Pal
The worksheet’s study image is a line study, so colour questions require the actual print or a clearly identified reproduction. Confirm image access and provenance before drawing conclusions about details the simplified study cannot show.