Throughout the ages, women reading have often been the subject of paintings. This simple act of showing women engaging in a leisure activity often has had deeper connotations than what we might realize today: In the past and at different historical eras, education was reserved for only women of wealthier classes, seen as preparation for marriage, and viewed as dangerous.
Paintings of women reading — often painted by men, and sometimes by women — give the viewer varying ranges of ability to gaze upon the subjects during private moments where a woman has a book in her hands, sometimes with the woman looking back at the subject, sometimes with her turning away and sometimes with her oblivious to the viewer at all. Through these viewpoints, artists make a variety of statements, offering their commentary on the appropriateness and purpose of the task.
In light of these layers of meaning, let’s not forget that women’s opportunities and abilities to read freely in the current moment — and our ability to dismiss images of women reading as mundane — have been hard-won by those who have lived before us; let’s exercise our right to read remembering that still today, many women around the world are not able to read, accounting for ⅔ of approximately 781 million people who are illiterate globally, according to the National Literacy Institute.
Here, we recreate the painting “Jove Decadent,” by Ramon Casas, 1899 by reimagining it in the present day. May this photo help us to reflect on the ways we read now and how that has changed throughout the decades, and inspire us to continue to take up this privilege to think, to enjoy, to connect, making the world and ourselves better through the free and open exchange of ideas and perspectives.
Tell us about your relationship with reading.
I’ll be honest, I’m not an avid reader. But when a book intrigues me, I find it hard to put it down. But I avidly read older articles and stories from magazines. I’m really into history, so I always try to seek out pieces of media that predate me.
Why do you read? What do you read most often?
I read because I’m always seeking opportunities to expand my knowledge on any subject. The types of books I like to read are celebrity biographies. Especially those of the older generation that give me a glimpse of the world at that time and how they lived in it.
What is a text that has impacted your life or the way you view the world, and how has it changed you?
I’m a huge film fanatic, and the one that’s had the most impact on me is by far “Dead Poets Society.” Watching it at a young age taught me we are all truly infinite, and you are never confined to what society wants you to be.
What are three pieces of writing you recommend to others?
Three pieces of writing I recommend to others are “Tuesdays With Morrie” by Mitch Albom; “Positano” by John Steinbeck, a piece he wrote for Harper’s Bazaar in 1953; and “For President Kennedy, An Epilogue” by Theodore H. White, an interview with Jackie Kennedy after her husband’s assassination in 1963.
What is your favorite line from a book?
“Paths that cross will cross again.” — From “Just Kids” by Patti Smith
