Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Spying with a Telescope, from the series Seven Fashionable Bad Habits (Fūryū nakute nanakuse)
Katsushika Hokusai Japanese
Not on view
Two women from a samurai household—one peering through a telescope—are on an outing. We do not know what she gazes at, but perhaps it is a case of reverse voyeurism, and she espies a young man who has caught her fancy. The older woman beside her, holding a parasol, appears amused by the unladylike behavior. The print belongs to the series Seven Fashionable Bad Habits, from which only this and one other composition are known. Signed “Kako,” this rare print (only three impressions appear to have survived) dates to a period when the artist was known for his depictions of elegant young women with elongated oval faces.
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