Before photography and film, portraits provided a way to record a person's image. Rembrandt's self-portrait, or portrait of the painter himself, is a painting. It is a realist, frontal self-portrait, that relies strong contrasts between light and dark to show detail and emphasize the artists face. Each part is proportionate, so that no one feature is embellished, but instead compliment one another.Waves in their natural form, are not necessarily art, however Katsushika Hokusai has captured the fierceness of the waves and the glory of the ocean by painting a frozen image of a large wave just before it is about to crash down on the sea below. The artist used proportion to show the large wave as most prominent, displaying its power over the waves below. The artist created balance for the large wave on the left, by creating height in the sky, which is more likely clouds on the right. The white caps are emphasized by the artist's use of contrast between their light, and the darkness of rest of the sea. This makes the white caps appear claw-like, reaching out for the sea below with intention and strength. The artist's main inspiration was nature, specifically the sea.
