Læsende dame 1882

Curator: Standing before us is Carl Bloch’s etching, "Læsende dame," or "Reading Lady," created in 1882. The work is currently housed in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Denmark’s national gallery. Editor: My first thought? Quiet. Almost oppressively so. The dark background kind of swallows the scene, focusing all the attention on her, the reading lady. You can almost hear the rustle of the pages she is flipping. Curator: It's an intimate glimpse into a private, domestic sphere. We see this lady engrossed in her book in a carefully orchestrated, Realist manner. There's a significant rise in portraying the private lives of the bourgeoisie during this era. It is considered an important piece of intimism. Editor: The texture created through the etching is pretty remarkable too. Everything from her dress to the carpet has this layered feeling to it, creating this world. Does she even notice us looking? I love that the vase on the table has equal weight in the drawing as the woman. Curator: Indeed! Note the considered composition that frames her activity. The artist places as much emphasis on setting, reflecting the 19th-century obsession with the domestic and the increasing social value placed on reading and intellectual pursuits for women. It became culturally important and valuable for upper-class ladies to become erudite and well-read. Editor: It really does speak of calm concentration. Though... is it only me, or does she seem a little lonely? Isolated in this interior of decorative objects. Even the way the artist composed the scene makes it seem she has shut us, the viewer, out of her space. Curator: Possibly. Art often embodies more than what it portrays. It reflects as much as it records. The lady reads while we look at her, we judge, we reflect... It's all part of how images circulate through culture. Editor: Maybe that's why it holds me captive: not just for its peacefulness, but because the act of looking makes me part of it all too. I feel almost as introspective as she does.