Spying with a Telescope, from the series Seven Fashionable Bad Habits (Fūryū nakute nanakuse)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.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.
Artwork Details
- 葛飾北斎画 「風流無くてなゝくせ」遠眼鏡
- Title: Spying with a Telescope, from the series Seven Fashionable Bad Habits (Fūryū nakute nanakuse)
- Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo))
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: ca. 1801–2
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink, color, and mica on paper; vertical ōban
- Dimensions: Image: 14 1/2 in. × 10 in. (36.8 × 25.4 cm)
Frame: 20 1/4 × 15 11/16 in. (51.4 × 39.8 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Lent by Lee E. Dirks
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art