The Reading

At the centre of this domestic scene is a woman intent on browsing a large book while sitting on a large 17th-century armchair. The influence of the Neapolitan school is evident in the use of the shades of brown with some light breaks hinting to the style of the master Domenico Morelli. The detail of the paper fan, creating almost a halo around the head of the young woman, is a clear tribute to the Orient, in line with the interest in the Japanese world, which spread from France throughout Europe between the 19th and 20th centuries.