# Woman Reading

**Édouard Manet** (French, 1832–1883)  
1880–82  
Oil on canvas  
61.2 × 50.7 cm (24 1/16 × 19 7/8 in.); Framed: 83.2 × 73.1 × 9.9 cm (32 3/4 × 28 3/4 × 3 7/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.435. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/14591).

## About this work

Édouard Manet was a pivotal figure in the development of Impressionism and modern art. Here, an elegantly dressed Parisian woman reads a magazine, a beer close at hand—a scene that would have struck contemporary viewers as fashionable and modern. While the woman appears to be outdoors, one of Manet’s paintings serves as a backdrop and other props suggest the scene was staged in Manet’s studio.

_Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._

Édouard Manet painted this in 1880–82, aged about 48. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A young woman in a dark hat and coat with light ruffled collar sits reading a large periodical held up in her gloved hands. Flowers and foliage are suggested behind her.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Édouard Manet](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/edouard-manet)

French, 1832–1883; born in Paris; died in Paris

Manet came from a prosperous Parisian family, trained under Thomas Couture and studied the old masters, Velázquez above all. In the 1860s he provoked critics with Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe and Olympia, modern subjects painted in flat, frank colour with little modelling. Though he never showed with the Impressionists, younger painters looked to him as a leader, and in his last years he painted Parisian café life and A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France
- The artist was about 48
- Real size: about 24 × 20 in (61 × 50 cm). The 18 × 24 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: everyday life (genre), table, reading, painting, magazine, floral, fashion, black (color)
- Colour: green
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/34.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/34/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/woman-reading-aic-14591).