13-05-2025
Shocked art fans are all saying the same thing after seeing the original 'Great Wave' painting
Art lovers have been left baffled after discovering the real size of a hugely popular creative piece of artwork.
After visiting the Montreal art museum currently housing The Great Wave Off Kanagawa - a woodblock print by Japanese artist Hokusai - X user Callan shared the image online.
The post quickly caused a stir, with fans from around the world shocked after realising the true size of the original 1830s piece.
One of 36 in a series of woodblocks titled Thirty-Six Views Of Mount Fuji, the panel is much smaller than many members of the public had come to believe.
'Am I silly or did anyone else think this piece was much larger?' asked Callan.
Found as a card in plenty of gift shops, a poster in countless rooms and even spanning duvet covers and luxury throws, the print is familiar to both art lovers and those uninterested in artwork.
But like many popular art pieces such as Van Gogh's Wheatfield With Crows or the Mona Lisa, seeing the real thing can sometimes be underwhelming.
And it's not because the artwork isn't magnificent, but because it's so different in scale than it typically appears in replicas and reprints.
'Very cool to see these details up close, either way!' Callan continued.
With 14,000 likes and hundreds of comments, many who viewed the post were similarly taken aback.
One person wrote: 'I definitely assumed it was bigger!' Another echoed the sentiment, saying: 'I've seen this in person too, but at the time I didn't think about it.
'We have seen it projected or printed on big walls and I guess that's why we tend to imagine the original is bigger?'
One person argued that the precise nature of the details lend the piece to being enlarged.
'There's so many big reproductions of it,' wrote Michael Frank. 'It's a testament to how clean and elegant the work is.'
Many commenters who had also seen the original print shared their similar experiences
And another chimed in: 'I too was shocked when I saw it in person. I guess we're used to seeing poster-sized versions.'
However, those familiar with wooden prints pointed out that the scale is not unusual for the medium and genre.
In fact, the piece - emblematic of the ukiyo-e style - might actually be on the larger end for its kind.
One of the most well-known pieces of Japanese art in history, its dimensions are 24.6cm x 36.5cm - or 9.7in x 14.4in.
The timeless image has before been described as 'possibly the most reproduced image in the history of all art', which explains why viewers might have preconceptions about its appearance.
In the context of wooden prints, 'oban' refers to pieces roughly 10in by 15in.
One commenter pointed out bluntly: 'This is the standard size for ukiyo-e prints, so yes, you are being silly.'
Others in the comments shared their experiences of seeing their favourite artworks in person - only to realise they were much larger or smaller than expected.
And portraits such as Van Gogh's (pictured) and the Mona Lisa - so often replicated - are not as large as art fans may suspect
'Mona Lisa and Van Gogh's self portrait are also super small,' wrote one. 'It's funny how such small paintings have massive impacts.'
Other paintings which are deceptively small upon first viewing are The Creation Of Man by Michelangelo and The Persistence Of Memory by Salvador Dali.
