Printed to order

Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit by Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1830–1832

$130.00

Item no. PDKHW002-00

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Lightning on the dark slopes of Mount Fuji: Hokusai’s Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit, on stretched canvas, framed, or on fine art paper.

Format

Stretched canvasfrom $130 Framed canvasfrom $160 Framed printfrom $160 Fine art printfrom $80

Size

Which size fits your wall

Every size keeps the painting's own proportions. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.

18 × 12 in 46 × 30 cm

Three-seat sofa, 84 in wide × 34 in tall (213 × 86 cm)

Size	Metric	Where it works
18 × 12 in	46 × 30 cm	Plays well with others: the middle of a gallery wall, a pair side by side, or a hallway on its own.
24 × 16 in	61 × 41 cm	Holds a wall on its own above a dresser, console or sideboard. Above a bed or a sofa, hang two side by side.
30 × 20 in	76 × 51 cm	Holds a wall on its own above a dresser, console or sideboard. Above a bed or a sofa, hang two side by side.

Rule of thumb: choose art about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it.

18 × 12 in46 × 30 cm 24 × 16 in61 × 41 cm 30 × 20 in76 × 51 cm

Frame

Black White Natural wood Dark wood

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Subtotal $130.00

Printed to order in 1–3 business days
Free US shipping, tracked, 5–12 business days
30-day returns and exchanges
Damage cover included: we remake and reship

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Questions about sizes or framing? Ask us

This print is mostly black and deep brown, with a red zigzag of lightning, and a muddy copy loses the mountain in the dark. Our Hokusai thunderstorm beneath the summit print was graded so the slopes keep their texture and the lightning still flashes red.

Canvas, framed or paper

Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.

Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.

Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.

Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.

Sizes

18x12 inch, 24x16 inch, 30x20 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.

On your wall

Its wide shape suits a living room, a study or a dark, dramatic wall. The black, red and blue look strong with charcoal, cream and dark wood, and a black frame suits it.

About the painting

Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit by Hokusai

The Black Fuji

Hokusai made this around 1830 to 1832, in his seventies, for his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. It is the dark twin of his Red Fuji: the same great mountain, but in Japan it is called the Black Fuji.

Storm below

At the top the sky is clear and the snow shines. Lower down the mountain turns black, and a bolt of lightning cracks across it in sharp red zigzags, while clouds cling to the slopes like smoke. The Art Institute of Chicago calls it an image of great simplicity and force.

A sacred mountain

Mount Fuji was worshipped as a sacred mountain, and pilgrims came to it from all over Japan. Its last great eruption had been in 1707. With the Great Wave and Red Fuji, this is one of the three great prints of the series.

Listen to the story

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Read the story

At the top of this mountain the sky is clear. Lower down, lightning is striking.

Around 1830, Katsushika Hokusai is seventy, and working on a series of prints called Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.

Fuji is Japan's sacred mountain. Pilgrims come to it from all over the country, and it last erupted in 1707.

Hokusai draws it again and again, from every side. But in two famous prints, he lets the mountain fill the whole picture.

Once, in the famous Red Fuji, glowing under a clear sky. And once here, in a storm.

The snowy peak still rises into blue sky, with white clouds piled up behind it.

But below, the slopes turn black, and a bolt of red lightning cracks across them in sharp zigzags.

In Japan they call this one the Black Fuji, the dark twin of the red.

He signs it Hokusai, renamed Iitsu, one of the many names he used in his long life.

The Art Institute of Chicago, which owns an impression, calls it an image of great simplicity and visual force.

Look at the snow in the sunshine, and the storm underneath it.

Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit. Katsushika Hokusai, about 1831.

Hokusai as an Old Man, after a drawing attributed to Hokusai. Woodblock print, 1900. Freer Gallery of Art.

The artist

Katsushika Hokusai

1760–1849 · Ukiyo-e

Japanese painter and printmaker of the Edo period, who worked for some seventy years and signed his work under many names. He was in his seventies when Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji appeared, the series that carried his name around the world.

More by Katsushika Hokusai

The original

Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849)
Date: c. 1830–1832
Medium: Colour woodblock print on paper
Where it hangs today: Impressions at the Art Institute of Chicago and others
Originals: One impression of a print made in many
Original size: About 26 × 38 cm

Graded against the original: true to the artist’s colours, brought back to life for your wall.

How each piece is brought to life

Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.

Graded against the original

We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you

Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall

It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.

Questions

Is this the original painting?

No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.

Will the colour look flat?

This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.

Will the edges be cropped?

Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.

Which size is right for my wall?

Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.

How long does it take?

Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.

What if it arrives damaged?

Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.

Can I return it?

Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.