This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rhodes chapter.
At a certain point, the objectifying paintings of women lounging around semi-nude become frustrating. Here are eight paintings of fully-clothed women expanding their minds through that great pastime: reading.
- “Woman Reading in an Interior,” Carl Vilhelm Holsøe
- “Reflections,” Ethel Porter Bailey
- “The Housemaid,” William McGregor Paxton
- “At Breakfast,” Laurits Anderson Ring
- “Woman Reading on a Settee,” William Worchester Churchill
- “Young Girl Reading,” Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- “Peaceful Reading,” Fernand Toussaint
- “Morning Sun,” Harold Knight
“And to all [her talents], [a lady] must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.” –Jane Austen, “Pride and Prejudice”