The Reader

Kadist has invited a group of artists to select one of the historical paintings collected here, and to imagine what's happening on the pages of the book, or in the mind of the women reading it. These paintings can be found in museum collections around the world.

Click each image for more information. Place your arrow over paintings with the YELLOW border to listen to the artist’s text read aloud...

With contributions from:

Christine Sun Kim
Marcelline Delbecq
Adriana Lara
Malak Helmy
Beatriz Santiago Muñoz

<p>Text by Beatriz Santiago Muñoz<br/><br/>For<br/><b><i>Girl Reading</i>, 1850<br/>André Fontaine</b><br/><br/>Read by Jaime Soria and Dave Buchen</p>

<p><b><i>Girl Reading</i>, 1930<br/>Philip Naviasky</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Girl Reading</i>, 1932<br/>Harold Knight</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Reading by the Window</i>, <br/>1908-1913<br/>Kijiro Ota</b><br/><br/></p>

<p class='if-malak'>By Malak Helmy<br/><br/>For:<br/><b><i>Lady seated in a drawing room interior</i>, 1900<br/>Carl Vilhelm Holsoe</b><br/><br/>Read by Tricia Brioux</p><p><b><i>Lady seated in a drawing room interior</i>, 1900<br/>Carl Vilhelm Holsoe</b><br/><br/></p>

<p class='if-malak'>By Malak Helmy<br/><br/>For:<br/><b><i>Woman Reading</i>, 1894<br/>Henri Matisse</b><br/><br/>Read by Tricia Brioux</p><p><b><i>Woman Reading</i>, 1894<br/>Henri Matisse</b><br/><br/></p>

<p class='if-malak'>By Malak Helmy<br/><br/>For:<br/><b><i>Reading Woman</i>, 1650<br/>Pieter Janssens Elinga</b><br/><br/>Read by Tricia Brioux</p><p><b><i>Reading Woman</i>, 1650<br/>Pieter Janssens Elinga</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Girl Reading</i>, 1920<br/>Vera Alabaster</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Girl Reading</i>, 1878<br/>Charles Edward Perugini</b><br/><br/></p>

<p>By Adriana Lara (text from Marquis de Sade, "Philosophy in the Bedroom")<br/><br/>For<br/><b><i>Two Girls Reading</i>, early 20th C<br/>Arthur George Walker</b><br/><br/>Read by Evan Calder Williams</p>

<p><b><i>La liseuse blanche</i>,<br/>1915-1916<br/>Auguste Renoir</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>A Woman Reading</i>,<br/>1869-1870<br/>Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Young Girl Reading</i>, 1770<br/>Jean-Honoré Fragonard</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Reader</i>, 1877<br/>Mary Cassatt</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>A Girl Reading a Book</i>, 1895<br/>Philip Wilson Steer</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Femme lisant</i>, 1920<br/>Julio Gonzalez</b><br/><br/></p>

<p>Text by Marcelline Delbecq<br/><br/>For<br/><b><i>The Artist's Wife Reading</i>, 1883<br/>Albert Bartholomé</b><br/><br/>Read by Marcelline Delbecq</p>

<p><b><i>Portrait of a Young Woman <br/>Reading</i>, 1938<br/>G. B. Barlow</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Reading</i>, 1946<br/>Ethel Leontine Gabain</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>La liseuse</i>, 1861<br/>Henri Fantin-Latour</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>La liseuse ou printemps</i>, 1872<br/>Claude Monet</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Interior with a Young Girl</i>, 1905-1906<br/>Henri Matisse</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Reading Woman in the Forest</i>, 1875<br/>Gyula Benczur</b><br/><br/></p>

<p>Text by Christine Sun Kim<br/><br/>For<br/><b><i>The Reader</i>, 1910<br/>Harold Knight</b><br/><br/>Read by Tarnia Jones<br/><br/><a href='ChristineSunKimTheReader.pdf' target='_blank'><small>Complete text</small></a></p>

<p><b><i>L'Arlésienne</i>, 1888-1889<br/>Vincent van Gogh</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Young Girl Reading</i>, 1868<br/>Jean-Baptiste Camille <br/>Corot</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Reading Girl</i>, 1887<br/>Theodore Roussel</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>An Old Woman Reading</i>, 1915<br/>Harry Clifford Pilsbury</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Browning Readers</i>, 1900<br/>William Rothenstein</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Reading</i>, 1870<br/>Henri Fantin-Latour</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Young Reader</i>, 1945<br/>Miguel Mackinlay</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Artist's Mother and Sister (Reading)</i>, 1869-1870<br/>Berthe Morisot</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>A Reading of Poetry (Woman Reading)</i>, 1965<br/>William Patrick Roberts</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Reader <br/>Wreathed with Flowers</i>, 1845<br/>Jean-Baptiste <br/>Camille Corot</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Inattentive Reader</i>, 1919<br/>Henri Matisse</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Reader</i>, 1860<br/>Alfred Stevens</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>A Girl Sitting Reading</i>, 1887<br/>Bertha Herkomer</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>A Lady <br/>Reading</i>, <br/>1909-1911<br/>Gwen John</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>A Quiet Read (Portrait <br/>of the Artist's Mother)</i>, <br/>1920<br/>Frank Jameson</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Reader</i>, 1660<br/>Eglon van der <br/>Neer</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>My Wife Reading</i>, 1888<br/>Charles Gogin</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Girl Seated, Reading at a <br/>Table</i>, 1930<br/>Jesse Dale Cast</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Woman Reading</i>, 1943<br/>Albert Reuss</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Leitura</i>, 1892<br/>Jose Ferraz de Almeida Júnior</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>The Green Book</i>, 1915<br/>Harold Knight</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>La Lecture</i>, 1877<br/>Henri Fantin-Latour</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Femme lisant</i>, <br/>1868<br/>François Bonvin</b><br/><br/></p>

<p><b><i>Woman Reading by a Paper-Bell Shade</i>, 1766<br/>Henry Robert Morland</b><br/><br/></p>