Un Regard Par Le Trou De La Serrure 

Editor: This painting, titled "Un Regard Par Le Trou De La Serrure," or "A Look Through the Keyhole," is attributed to Hans Zatzka and appears to be made with gouache. I’m immediately struck by how the artist frames the central figure—a woman reclining on a chaise lounge—within the shape of a keyhole. What is your interpretation of this work? Curator: This piece exemplifies the popular genre painting of its time. Consider the role of academic art during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What purposes did paintings like these serve for both the artist and the viewer? We have the male gaze materialized within the painting itself, a rather unsubtle suggestion of voyeurism, a peek into a boudoir which seems both eroticized and sentimentalized. It invites the viewer into a particular socio-sexual dynamic. Do you think this painting is subversive? Editor: I suppose it reflects societal norms, not challenges them. So the painting itself participates in that voyeuristic culture, doesn’t it? I’d initially missed that angle because it felt almost fantastical with the angel, flowers and overall decoration. Curator: Exactly. The setting feels like a confection. This softens the gaze; rendering the picture less threatening perhaps. Academic art like this often legitimized existing power structures, framing them as natural and beautiful. So we should ask ourselves, what ideas about femininity and privacy are being reinforced? And who gets to look, and under what conditions? Editor: It's fascinating to consider how art, even something that seems purely decorative, plays into these bigger social narratives. Thanks for the new perspective. Curator: It reminds us how even the most beautiful things can be products of—and participants in—complex power dynamics. A keyhole, after all, isn't just an opening; it’s also a barrier.