Woman Reading

Woman Reading
Woman Reading by Henri Matisse
Artist Henri Matisse
Year 1894
Medium Oil on canvas
Location Museum of Modern Art in Paris
Dimensions 24 1/4 x 18 7/8 in
61.6 x 47.9 cm
Famous Paintings by Henri Matisse
L’Atelier Rouge, 1911
The Conversation, 1912
Woman Reading, 1894
The Dance, 1909
The Snail, 1953
Green Stripe, 1905
Beasts of the Sea, 1950
The Open Window, 1905
Woman with a Hat, 1905

Woman Reading is a painting by the French artist Henri Matisse. He produced it in 1894, and it became his first real breakthrough with critics and the public: he exhibited it in 1896 at the Salon du Champ-de-Mars. The artwork, which is painted with oil on canvas, is owned by the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.

Artistic Details

The painting shows a calm and tranquil scene: a woman, shown with her back to the viewer, sits in a chair reading a book. Matisse wanted to emphasize the similarity between the type of room depicted and an artist’s studio like his own. To accomplish this, he gave the room strong hints of an artistic use, with several paintings hanging on the wall. There is a strong sense that reading can transport a reader into another world: the woman’s room is rather untidy, but she is so engrossed in her book that she does not notice this.