Lezende personen aan tafel c. 1888 - 1916

Curator: Georges Lemmen's "Lezende personen aan tafel," or "Reading People at a Table," believed to be made sometime between 1888 and 1916. It is an etching, a printmaking technique involving the use of acid to create the image on a metal plate. Editor: The immediate impression is one of intimacy, and almost of melancholy. The muted tones enhance a feeling of quiet domesticity, a scene of leisurely pursuits. The table lamp casts a warm glow that contrasts with the overall brown hue. Curator: Absolutely. Lemmen was part of Les XX, a Belgian group that aimed to challenge the established Salon system and embrace impressionistic and even pointillist styles. Works like this gave artists the opportunity to exhibit more experimental subjects and themes related to modern life. Editor: And we see that material translation so clearly in this work. Printmaking, especially etching, allowed for the mass distribution of art. It moves out of the salon and into public homes—a shift in access and a democratisation of art viewing. The means by which it’s crafted directly affects who can see and own it. Curator: This makes me consider the culture of reading, leisure, and domesticity at that time. Were these women engaged in intellectual discussions, or were they passing the time, reading novels, or catching up with correspondence? This scene echoes so many Impressionist works interested in women’s activities within a specific societal context. Editor: Thinking materially again, that distribution is part of the scene we’re seeing—are they reading letters? Are they studying, as you suggested? Etching became a vehicle not only for visual content, but for communication itself. It makes me wonder who the imagined viewers of this print were. Curator: Exactly! Did the growing middle classes in Europe aspire to such refined but ordinary domestic interiors? That’s the real value of a piece like this. Its capacity to invite that contemplation. Editor: It’s a testament to the power of translating mundane moments into reproducible art. Thanks to Lemmen's choice of materials and production, the quiet act of reading at a table, immortalized in ink, continues to resonate and allows for mass appreciation today.