Katsushika Hokusai was the preeminent master of the Japanese ukiyo-e (woodblock print) tradition. His most famous work, 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa,' is actually just one print in a larger series titled 'Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.' Created when Hokusai was in his 70s, the series used a newly imported synthetic pigment called 'Prussian Blue,' which gave his landscapes a vibrancy never before seen in Japanese art. Hokusai was incredibly prolific, producing over 30,000 drawings and sketches in his lifetime. He referred to himself as an artist who was 'obsessed with painting,' and he famously claimed that nothing he produced before the age of 70 was truly worthy of note. His work was eventually exported to Europe, where it had a massive impact on the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, a phenomenon known as Japonisme.