This image, "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" by Hokusai, is one of the iconic and indelible images of Japanes art. Done in the ukiyo-e woodblock printing style, the print is in many copies throughout the world, and in the usual fashion of nineteenth-century Japanese art, it depicts a dramatic force of nature in a landscape. Additionally, its formalism and representational elements are indicative of art from the Edo period (1603-1867).

The Dutch had quite an influence in Japan during this period; the Japanese adopted the "Dutch Learning," or Rangaku, philosophy to better understand Western European technological advances. Though the English did have some influence in Japan, the Dutch were far more influential in trade, ideology, and religion.

Kanagawa oki nama ura (Under the Wave off Kanagawa) is from a series of forty-six woodblock prints by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai depicting different images of the largest and most iconic mountain in Japan, Mount Fuji, called Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, and which had an additional ten added after its significant popularity. Mount Fuji is placed in the low point of the waves which are tossing around fishing boats, and is recognizable for its volcanic dome shape.

Image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katsushika_Hokusai,_published_by_Nishimuraya_Yohachi_(Eijudō)_-_Under_the_Wave_off_Kanagawa_(Kanagawa-oki_nami-ura),_also_known_as_the_Great_Wave,_from_the_series_T..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

The main structure of the painting is a massive storm wave tossing small ships at sea, which is why Katsushika Hokusai’s work is titled Kanagawa oki nama ura (Under the Wave off Kanagawa). Despite this chaotic foreground scene, and its sense of destruction, the image of Mount Fuji framed by the wave also shows nature as something awe-inspiring and majestic.

Image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katsushika_Hokusai,_published_by_Nishimuraya_Yohachi_(Eijudō)_-_Under_the_Wave_off_Kanagawa_(Kanagawa-oki_nami-ura),_also_known_as_the_Great_Wave,_from_the_series_T..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

As the Book of the Dead, from which the Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer was taken, was seen by Egyptians as a crucial guide for the deceased buried in a tomb, portability was desirable. Placing it on papyrus, with a straightforward painting, made it relatively less imposing than carved stone or massive wall frescoes, but also easier to read through the different sections.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BD_Hunefer.jpg

Lamassus were believed to be atropopaic, or imbued with the power to ward off evil spirits or bad luck. They were placed outside the king's citadel to protect against just that. They would also be placed in gateways as guardians under archways.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_headed_winged_bull_profile.jpg

The figure of Anubis, the Egyptian God of the afterlife and mummification, was represented in Egyptian art as having the head of a jackal. His role was to help lead the newly deceased through the underworld, particularly to the ceremony of the weighing of the heart to judge whether the individual was morally upright enough to pass through the afterlife. This role makes him crucial to appear in a work such as The Book of the Dead, as he served a crucial role in the funerary rites.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BD_Hunefer.jpg

This is called a lamassu. Lamassus were massive winged bulls with human heads. They were often depicted in Assyrian art and myth. (Cuneiform was ancient writing, a sarcophagus is a type of coffin, a register is a horizontal band that tells a narrative story, and a ground plan is a map of where things are on the floor of a building.)

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_headed_winged_bull_profile.jpg

The lamassu is a good example of a relief sculpture. This is a sculpture that projects out of a flat background. In this case, the figure projects out of the slab of alabaster. Relief sculptures give the illusion of a three-dimensional image. (A votive is an offering given in exchange for a vow or promise, apadanas and cellas are architectural features found in ancient Middle Eastern palaces and temples respectively, and congs are ancient Chinese tube-shaped objects with circular holes cut into square-like cross sections.)

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_headed_winged_bull_profile.jpg

This piece is a work of Assyrian art. The Assyrian people were one of several cultures that lived in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East (the Sumerians, Babylonians and Chaldeans also did, but at different times and in different regions). This region is now modern-day Iran.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_headed_winged_bull_profile.jpg