Continuation post of Listopia: Favorite art about women reading.

The Rain It Raineth Every Day
Leonard Campbell Taylor (UK, 1874-1969)

The reader made a pause to look out at the “rain that it raineth every day”. I love the stillness of the painting, and the light.

Woman Reading (1910)
Jean Édouard Vuillard (France, 1868-1940)

I’m a fan of Vuillard in general and his reading women in particular. Today this is my favorite.

Girl in Grey (1939)
Louis le Brocquy (Ireland, 1916 – 2012)

Is she thinking about the book or did some other thought distracted her? Great color contrast between the grey and the red.

Léopoldine au livre d’heures (1835)
Auguste de Chatillon (France, 1813-1881)

Léopoldine as in Léopoldine Hugo, daughter of Victor Hugo.

Blue Girl Reading
Auguste Macke (Germany, 1887-1914)

When I was in art school I was partial to Expressionists and the Fauves. Her face seems more in focus and detailed than the rest of the painting.

Evening at home
Edward John Poynter (UK, 1836-1919)

She looks so comfortable (except for the corset…), so cozy. Love the details like the Moroccan table, the shadow of the tulips on the wall, the strange little hanging vase.

Reading in the Garden
Susan Ricker Knox (USA, 1874 – 1959)

Gorgeous colors, notice how the green reflects on her white dress.

Reading
Ada Thilén (Finland, 1852-1933)

She looks so very serious, and her black and straight back is such a contrast with the soft background.

The Library (1905)
Elizabeth Shippen Green (USA, 1935-45)

This is part of a collection called “The Mistress of the House”, published in Harper’s Monthly Magazine. It accompanies other idealized images of the life of an early 1900s woman. Her library does look nice, with the small window and the assorted knickknacks.

Bridget Reading (1959)
Peter Samuelson (UK, 1912-1996)

I have the feeling she knows she’s showing more tight than is proper. Is that a smile I see growing on her lips?

Young Lady Reading (1878)
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)

A nice variation on the theme of “Evening at Home”, but this young woman looks even more comfortable (is it because she’s  French and the other English?). Cassatt loved painting women reading.

A Student of Art History (1972)
Ivan Stepanovich Ivanov-Sakachev (Russia, 1926-1980)

There’s one detail that intrigues me in this painting: her apron. Was she in the middle of a domestic task? Is she a maid distracted by an art book and the title is meant to be ironic? Either way, it’s great.

Woman Reading (1970)
Wil Barnet (USA, 1911-)

It was a close call between this one, this and this. Love the simple lines and strong colors in all of Barnet’s works.

The New Novel (1877)
Winslow Homer (USA, 1821–1896)

One of my favorites of the 50.

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Please dear readers, help me find out what’s the name and the author of this one. Do your eyes also go straight to the uncovered skin on her back? Notice how delicate the black lace in her sleeve looks.

Girl Reading the Post (1941)
Norman Rockwell (USA, 1894-1978)

Rockwell is the only artist with the honor to feature twice in this list 🙂

This Is Our Corner (1872)
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (The Netherlands/UK 1836-1912)

She’s defending their turf!

Sogni (Dreams) (1896)
Vittorio Matteo Corcos (Italy, 1859-1933)

The colors, her pose, the dress, the bright yellow of the books (making them so central)… it’s a great painting. And she looks so fierce!

Travelling Companions (1862)
Augustus Leopold Egg (UK, (1816-1863)

Am I the only one thinking of the Brontës sisters? One interesting things about this painting is that there’s images of it on the internet with a completely different color pallet.

The Reader (1888)
George Croegaert (Belgium, 1848-1923)

Japonism must have been at its height right about here. It fun to notice how many paintings in this list include books scattered everywhere…

Girl Reading (1915)
Coles Phillips (USA, 1880-1927)

Illustration for the cover of Good Housekeeping Magazine. “The first two decades of the 1900’s saw dramatic changes in how artists portrayed American women in magazines and other media. Instead of the prim, proper, and idealized ‘Gibson girl’ socialite of the 1890’s, the public was treated to an outpouring of more modern, active, and athletic images of women. Chief among the early architects of this ‘Golden Age of American Illustration’ was Coles Phillips [1880-1927], popularizer of the ‘fade-away‘ style…”  – Norm Platnick

A Gotthelf Reader (1884)
Albert Anker (Switzerland,  1831-1910)

I see her as a maid stealing a few minutes of novel-reading just before going to bed. How about you?

Woman Reading in a Garden
Henri Lebasque (France, 1865–1937)

Another favorite. You can feel the sun and heat.

Captivated (1875)
Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel (France, 1839-1929)

Yes, I’m captivated too, especially by that dress and the bag, which I would sooo use today.

Woman Lying on a Bench with Her Dog 
Carl Larsson (Sweden, 1853–1919)

Larsson is one of the artists that most features in my original Pinterest Board. He loves to paint domestic scenes in general and women reading in particular. His style is right up my alley.

Reading Nick Cave (2004)
David Anderle (USA)

I love how striking it is.

Maid Reading in a Library
Edouard John Mentha (Switzerland 1858 – 1914)

Another big favorite. If I was a maid cleaning that library, I’d probably get side-tracked as well…

Juliet, daughter of Richard H. Fox of Surrey (1931)
Alfred Lambart (UK, 1901-1970)

I like her, she’s flirty and confident. Great color, great light, great shoes.

The Love Letter
Bob Byerley (USA,  1941-)

Poor older sister… these two are having a riot at their expense. They’re the cutest thing in my list.

Lady in an interior
Carl Vilhelm Holsoe (Denmark, 1863-1935)

After some striking paintings, a lovely subdued one. Love the sun light in the corner and how the reader blends in with the room.

Woman Reading by the Harbour
James  Tissot (1836-1902)

Another big favorite. I think I could spend hours reading at that exact location.

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Mary-Jane Ansell (UK, 1972-)

Very… Handmaid’s Tale, don’t your think?

Lady Reading
Charles Joseph Frederick Soulacroix (France, 1825-79)

Another lovely example in the beautiful-interior-with-beautiful-ladies-in-beautiful-dresses category.

Reading by the Shore (ca. 1883-85)
Charles Sprague Pearce (USA,  1851-1914)

I find it interesting that, although it’s clearly a sunny day, Pearce decided to give it an icy color pallet.

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Carine Brancowitz (France)

Brancowitz works exclusively with BIC pens. I wish I could doodle like this.

Charwomen in Theater (1946)
Norman Rockwell (USA, 1894-1978)

The second Rockwell of the collection. A modern take on the maid distracted from her work.

Pup and Paperback
Molly Poole (USA)

Competing with The Love Letter for the cutest thing here 🙂

Betty McCann (1927)
George Spencer Watson (UK, 1869-1934)

She’s beautiful.

Haremden (1888)
Osman Hamdi Bey (Turkey, 1842-1910)

This one has a very pre-Raphaelite feel to it. It also satisfies my love with everything Ottoman.

A young woman reading on a balcony
Carl Schmitz-Pleis (Germany, 1877-1943)

What I like mot about this painting is the light: she’s in the dark where colors are stronger, and everything beyond that is light and pastel.