Woman Images of women reading or holding a book are very common in European from the Renaissance onwards. Books have symbolic connotations of and Books status, knowledge and refinement. The tour highlights works containing this image and classifies them into three A Reflection through groups: Annunciation scenes, Renaissance portraits, and women reading in the Western Painting 19th and 20th centuries.

Inés Alberdi images of the annunciation Professor of Sociology, The Annunciation is the episode in the life of the Virgin Mary where the Universidad Complutense, Madrid archangel Gabriel announces to her that she is going to give birth to Jesus, Commentaries on the works written by and she is often depicted holding a book in these scenes. Books are symbols the departments of Old Master Painting and Modern Painting, Museo Nacional of both elegance and piety. Reading adds a humanistic aspect to the idealisa­ Thyssen-Bornemisza tion of Mary as an example of female excellence. The image of a young girl reading, based on this iconography of the Virgin in the Annunciation, evokes an air of piety and virtuousness, but also of autonomy, of having free time for herself. And by extension it conveys a pos­ itive view of education for women. The iconography of the Annunciation is contradictory: the young woman’s words stress her submission and humil­ ity, but the presence of the book she holds expresses an idea of intellectual superiority and capacity.

renaissance portraits Portraits of ladies with books have a noticeable elegance that is afforded by cul­ ture and the huge importance society attaches to knowledge. Only a minority

GENTILE BELLINI, The Annunciation, c. 1475 (detail) THEMATIC TOURS 2 Woman and Books

of women received an education, yet there are many portraits of women with books. Books were uncommon and were used as signs of distinction. Seventeenth-century Dutch portraits of wealthy bourgeois merchants often feature women reading. Books hold a symbolic value because they enhance the sitters’ individual profile with an added intellectual status and the refinement that comes from knowledge.

women reading in the 19th and 20th centuries Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries economic development and urban­ isation in the European countries were accompanied by the growth of the middle classes and their culture. Women had much greater access to educa­ tion and artists portrayed these new, more knowledgeable middle classes. In art this rise in women’s culture and education was reflected in an increase in images of women reading. The subjects of became democra­ tised, and many portraits were painted of middle-class women. Numerous paintings show women engaged in everyday tasks. One of the ac­ tivities chosen to represent women’s daily lives was reading. It became rel­ atively fashionable for them to pose reading. Culture became a middle-class value. Education continued to be considered a sign of distinction, and por­ traits of women with books were a means of conveying this intellectual refinement.

EDWARD HOPPER, Hotel Room, 1931 (detail)

[ROOM 3] this exquisite by jan The Flemish master expertly conveys van Eyck is designed as a diptych and is the sense of the mystery and purity of the part of a group of small works intended for scene, which is executed in grisaille. The private devotion. The artist depicts the fig­ use of black and white creates an illusion­ Maaseik, c. 1390–, 1441 ures standing on a plinth. The angel is on istic effect and gives the the the left and the Virgin, on whom the dove appearance of a sculpture group. Here – as The Annunciation Diptych, c. 1433–35 of the Holy Spirit perches, is on the right. is often the case in western painting – The theme of the Annunciation is taken Mary is shown reading a book identified Oil on panel. Left wing (The Archangel from the Gospel of St Luke (1: 26–38), as the Holy Scriptures. This image of the Gabriel): 38.8 x 23.2 cm; Right wing which tells of the episode that took place Virgin reading was disseminated during (The Virgin Mary): 39 x 24 cm in the Virgin’s home in Nazareth when the Gothic period and expresses her intel­ museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid the angel appeared to her to announce lectual capacity, which is mentioned in a inv. 137.b (1933.11.1-2) that she would give birth to the Saviour. few apocryphal Gospel accounts of her Van Eyck commonly made inscriptions life. The book is considered an attribute on the frames of his paintings, and here of the knowledge of the Virgin, who med­ he quotes the first and last sentences of itates on the coming of the Saviour and the dialogue between Mary and the angel. specifically on the words of the prophet Other literary sources that addressed the Isaiah (7: 14–15) announcing that a virgin theme of the Annunciation were the Gos­ will conceive and give birth to a son whose pel of Pseudo-Matthew (9: 1–2) and the name will be Immanuel, meaning God Infancy Gospel of James (11: 1–3). with us. THEMATIC TOURS 3 Woman and Books

[ROOM 4] this small panel depicts the annun- meditating with a book on the prophecy ciation episode described in the Gospel of Isaiah (7: 14–15), which Luke included of St Luke (1: 26­38). Bonfigli illustrates in his Gospel. BENEDETTO BONFIGLI the moment the archangel Gabriel appears The Virgin kneels with her hands Perugia, c. 1420–1496 to the Virgin to announce that she will pressed together in prayer. She is not hold­ conceive a son by the power of the Holy ing the book in this composition; instead The Annunciation, c. 1455 Spirit. The child will be called Jesus and it lies open on a lectern. The books piled will be the son of God. Through a beam on two shelves beneath it indicates that Tempera and gold on panel, 51 x 36.5 cm emerging from a parting in the heavens her reading is not limited to the prophecy museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid God the Father sends down the Holy Spirit of Isaiah. inv. 53 (1977.23) in the form of a dove with two flames. The This scene does not take place in a presence of the dove, positioned in front loggia or closed architectural structure of the kneeling young Mary, underlines but in an open space, though it is fenced the mystery of the Incarnation referred to off by a wall that separates the figures by Luke: ‘The Holy Spirit shall come upon from the background landscape. This you, and the power of the Highest shall setting closed to the outside world may overshadow you: therefore also that holy be a reference to the hortus conclusus, thing which shall be born of you shall be a further allusion to the Virgin’s purity called the Son of God’. taken from the Song of Songs (4: 12): ‘A The iconography of this passage is garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, inspired by various apocryphal sources. A spring shut up, A fountain sealed’. The Compared to pre-Gothic compositions, lilies held by the angel are a symbol of where the Virgin is depicted seated on a Mary’s purity, while the vase of red and throne and spinning, Bonfigli adopts the white flowers between them is a reference by then widespread formula of the Virgin to the future Passion of her Son.

[ROOM 7] this annunciation has been attributed Mary’s life. The book the Virgin is reading to Gentile Bellini and is dated to about and meditating on, a symbol par excellence 1475. The artist has chosen to set the epi­ of knowledge and erudition, has always GENTILE BELLINI sode in a street in a completely empty city been identified as a religious work such Venice (?), 1429–1507 where the message is delivered outside as a psalter – a collection of psalms which the grand Renaissance portico in whose constituted the corpus of prayers most The Annunciation, c. 1475 interior Mary kneels. Beneath the portico widely disseminated among laypeople – is a book lying on a lightweight folding or a later book of hours. Artists were not Mixed media on panel, 133 x 124 cm portable lectern. In western art the Virgin is overly concerned about making clear what museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid depicted busy reading the Holy Scriptures, it was Mary was poring over, they were inv. 38 (1930.9) whereas Oriental art traditionally shows her interested simply in the fact that she was engaged in domestic chores such as fetching reading and the connotations this act held water from the well or weaving a purple for the spectator or believer. veil for the temple. The Gospel of St Luke There is also a glimmer of a courtly (1: 26–38), which records the event, does gesture in the position of the angel with not provide much information about the one knee on the ground. This archangel angel’s greeting, except that it took place in holds a stalk of lilies, which in traditional Galilee, in the city of Nazareth. Artists had northern European painting is commonly to turn to complementary sources or their depicted in a vase visible in the setting imagination to visualise this moment in where the Annunciation takes place. THEMATIC TOURS 4 Woman and Books

[ROOM 5] this masterpiece from the collec- to her public life and high social status. tion is an outstanding example of portrait Besides depicting her elegant, idealised painting in Quattrocento Florence. Both bearing, Ghirlandaio also conveys the DOMENICO GHIRLANDAIO the circumstances surrounding its com­ young woman’s spiritual depth, in keeping Florence, 1448/49–1494 missioning and the sitter’s identity and with the Neoplatonic ideal of physical and life are known thanks to surviving records spiritual beauty then in vogue. For this Portrait of Giovanna degli from the period. purpose, he painted the cartellino display­ Albizzi Tornabuoni, 1489–90 Giovanna degli Albizzi Tornabuoni ing a variant of one of Martial’s epigrams married Lorenzo Tornabuoni in 1486, but (XXXII) and a small book lying on the Mixed media on panel, 77 x 49 cm died of unknown causes during her sec­ shelf. It is a libriccino da donna, whose museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid ond pregnancy two years later. Lorenzo, canticles were used by women to guide inv. 158 (1935.6) greatly saddened by his loss, wished to im­ their prayers throughout the day. These mortalise his beloved in a picture and com­ books of hours for private devotion were missioned Domenico Ghirlandaio to paint luxury items and many of them were com­ her likeness. It is a posthumous work for missioned on the occasion of weddings. which the artist used a full-length portrait The texts were illustrated with exquisite of Giovanna in the Visitation fresco of the images and scenes that headed the calen­ main chapel of Santa Maria Novella. dars and cycles of prayers and sometimes Giovanna is depicted in strict profile, included the coat of arms of the family surrounded by some of her personal pos­ who commissioned them. In accordance sessions. The pendant hanging from her with the tastes of the great Florentine slender neck and the luxurious brooch families such as the Medici, these manu­ lying on the shelf would have been the scripts were usually protected by a luxu­ jewellery she received from the Torna­ rious cover decorated with precious boeni family as wedding gifts and allude metals and other sumptuous materials.

[ROOM 6] ures. The artist presents the theme of the Annunciation according to the Gospel of St Luke (1: 26–38). In the scene the angel BERNHARD STRIGEL appears to the Virgin in a simple room with Memmingen, 1460–1528 a window looking out onto a landscape in the centre. Mary is positioned on the left of The Virgin and the Angel of the composition and her gaze, the position the Annunciation, c. 1515–20 of her hands, and modest attitude evidence her acceptance of the divine message. The Oil on panel, 118 x 50 cm each dove of the Holy Spirit descends on her.

museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid Here – unlike in other Annunciations in inv. 377.a (1934.25.1) the Museum’s collection such as that of Jan van Eyck – the painter portrays her sitting bernhard strigel was an important at a desk before an open book: the Holy German painter of the late 1400s and early Scriptures. Once again we find an image of 1500s and his work shows the influence of the Virgin reading with a double meaning: it other prominent artists of the period such emphasises Mary’s piety and devotion, but as Dürer and Dieric Bouts. These two panels also her capability and excellent intellectual must have been part of a larger ensemble. grounding. There are literary and artistic The influence of Flemish art is evident testimonies of this theme dating from the in the elongated proportions of the fig­ Carolingian period onwards. THEMATIC TOURS 5 Woman and Books

[ROOM 10] jan de beer sets his annunciation all of which display the letters of Christ’s in a Flemish bourgeois interior, an envi­ monogram in gilt embroidery on the front, ronment his contemporaries would have are made of the same green velvet. JAN DE BEER considered highly suitable on account of Once again the Virgin is presented to (?), c. 1475–before 10 November 1528 its familiarity. The panel, which forms a the faithful as a cultured woman who reads pair with The Birth of the Virgin, features out of devotion and in a scene where the The Annunciation, c. 1520 the three essential figures: the Virgin, the book emphasises her religious and intel­ angel and the dove of the Holy Spirit. lectual concerns. The artist includes the Oil on panel, 111.5 x 131 cm Once again Mary is depicted before an text of the greeting on the ribbon scrolls museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid inv. 35 (1956.15) open book, in this case medium-sized, positioned between the figures to stress not which needs to be supported by a solid only the dialogue between them but also cabinet containing two other hardcover the message. Jan de Beer extends the dis­ books with fine leather bindings. The book course to other corners of the room such as Mary is reading, which has two elegant the top shelf, from which a sheet of paper gilt clasps, lies on a green velvet cloth. is about to gently tumble down, and the There is every indication it is a sacred neatly rolled up scroll leaning on the wall book that has been given a cloth covering beside it. Another episode in Mary’s life, to prevent the reader’s hands from touch­ which takes place after the Annunciation ing it, as a sign of respect. The cushions and the Incarnation, is depicted outside decorating the room and the sewing bag, the room: the Visitation.

[ROOM 7] the image of a woman reading or figure, which is stylised and exquisite in holding a book, as in this painting by Pier all aspects. Francesco Foschi, enjoyed success in the In her right hand the lady holds a PIER FRANCESCO FOSCHI history of painting from the Renaissance small book she is halfway through read­ Florence, 1502–1567 onwards, when portraiture became a ing, and marks the page with her index genre in its own right without religious finger in order to shortly resume her ac­ Portrait of a Lady, c. 1530–35 connotations. Nothing is known about tivity. Her lowered, and engrossed gaze the identity of the attractive sitter or her indicates she has stopped to reflect on the Oil on panel, 101 x 79 cm pursuits, tastes and thoughts. However, text which held her attention until a few museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid, the canvas reveals aspects of her char­ minutes ago. The smallness of the book inv. 145 (1935.16) acter and life that bring to mind Floren­ – which could be described as pocket tine high society, to which she almost size – allows it to be carried around and certainly belonged. The young lady is read anywhere. It is a prized object the very elegantly dressed and poses for the artist has placed in the sitter’s hands to spectator in an architectural setting whose attest to and stress the sitter’s intellectu­ plainness and muted colours perfectly set al qualities, but also to draw attention to off her beauty and clothing. The painter his client’s pursuits during a moment of avoids including any features that might leisure in which the pleasure of reading distract the spectator’s attention from the would have played a special role.

THEMATIC TOURS 6 Woman and Books

[ROOM 6] veronese is one of the great artists Venice, where high-quality examples were who, together with Titian and Tintoretto, produced in various formats. As a novelty revolutionised 16th-century painting and pocket-sized books – previously reserved VERONÉS created the so-called Venetian School of for devotional texts – began to come out, Verona, 1528-Venice, 1588 painting, which went on to influence all which were portable and could be read subsequent art. A highly skilled colour­ anywhere. Classical Greco-Latin and pas­ Portrait of a Woman with ist, he produced above all religious and toral literature was in vogue during the a Dog, c. 1560–70 mythological paintings, though he also period. It discussed the different kinds devoted part of his output to portraiture. of love, usually in the form of dialogues, Oil on canvas, 105 x 79 cm This lady, whose identity is unknown, and described courting scenes that took museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid, is portrayed in a three-quarter pose gazing place in bucolic places far from the city. inv. 423 (1930.21) leftwards and accompanied by a small Portraits of people reading, character­ dog. Veronese describes the different istic of Venetian Cinquecento painting, textures of the rich blue and white fabrics mostly featured men, though sometimes of her clothing with absolute mastery. women were also portrayed with books. With a finger she points to the page where Paintings of the belle donne veneziene – she has stopped reading the book she possibly images of idealised, sensual ladies holds, from which hang two small loops – coexist alongside intimate portraits of to fasten it. these women reading or simply posing After Johannes Gutenberg invented the with a book in their hands. Their faces printing press around 1450, the publica­ and gestures denote a certain melancholy tion of books developed considerably in and self-absorption.

[ROOM 6] dated to around 1576, before el greco Annunciation scenes because, according settled in Spain permanently, this paint­ to Saint Bernard, it recalls the prophecy ing, strongly influenced by Venetian art, of Isiah (7: 14): ‘Behold, the virgin shall EL GRECO sums up the guidelines established by conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His Candia, 1541–Toledo, 1614 the Council of Trent; among them rep­ name Immanuel’. According to the same resenting the Annunciation with due source, if the book is closed, it is linked The Annunciation, c. 1576 majesty and greatness as the episode prior to this prophet’s words (29: 11–12): ‘The to the Incarnation of Christ. To restore the whole vision has become to you like the Oil on canvas, 117 x 98 cm Annunciation to its rightful magnificence, words of a book that is sealed, which men museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid the Council decreed that artists should deliver to one who is literate’. inv. 172 (1975.35) avoid the excessively familiar and ordi­ Adapting the post-Tridentine canons, nary settings in which it had been depicted El Greco shows the angel, who recalls the in the past and required them to focus on painting of Veronese with his solemn the supernatural aspect. From this point gesture and pose, grasping a sceptre. onwards Saint Gabriel was to be shown Mary, facing the spectator with her head visiting Mary on a cloud and accompanied turned, holds one hand to her heart and by a choir of angels in order to imbue the rests the other on the text she is read­ message with greater glory. The image ing, while the dove of the Holy Spirit of Mary as a cultured and pious person, emerges from a parting of the heavens however, remained unchanged. The book to stress the Incarnation and its doctrinal continued to be an important feature of importance. THEMATIC TOURS 7 Woman and Books

[ROOM 18] cornelis ketel was a prominent traying women reading – in this case Dutch painter of the late 16th century. As possibly a religious text – was a means of was customary in his period, he specialised indicating piety as well as education and CORNELIS KETEL in portraits, both group and individual. even a certain social status. In this work Gouda, 1548–Amsterdam, 1616 Although he also painted allegorical and the woman marks the page she is on with narrative scenes, he attained his height her finger. These depictions of women Portrait of a Woman aged Fifty-Six, of artistic development in this genre. He holding a book were common in Dutch 1594 shunned the traditional canons and in­ painting of the 16th and 17th centuries. troduced innovations that laid the ground­ The Rijksmuseum houses another exam­ Oil on panel, 83 x 67.3 cm work for the great masters of the follow­ ple by Pieter Pietersz. entitled Portrait of museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid ing century such as Frans Hals and Dirckje Tymansdr Gael, called van der inv. 591 (1983.25) Thomas de Keyser. Here Ketel depicts the Graft, Wife of Mattheus Augustijnsz Steyn sitter against a dark background with her where the sitter is also shown with a book, face turned towards, and gazing at, the pointing to the page. The humanist dis­ viewer, experimenting with her body and course on marriage and the family spread pose. Her body fills almost the entire to northern scholars such as Erasmus and picture space and is rendered in a palette Vives in the 16th century. Dutch printers of browns and dark colours. The artist brought out many new books on marriage, concentrates on studying her face and raising children, administering the house­ hands, one of which holds a book. Por­ hold, etiquette and education.

[ROOM 30] helena de kay, the woman depicted be interpreted as a possible lost love in this small panel, was a painter, illustrator between her and Homer. After marrying, and cultural promoter in New York in the Helena de Key stopped exhibiting her WINSLOW HOMER second half of the 1800s. Around 1872 work publicly, though she continued with Boston, 1836–Prouts Neck, 1910 her brother, the art critic Charles de Kay, her illustrations, translations and cultural introduced her to Winslow Homer who, activities through the foundation of the Portrait of Helena de Kay, c. 1872 like her, painted and studied in the Tenth Art Students League and the Society of Street Studio Building. It was probably in American Artists and the Friday gatherings Oil on panel, 31 x 47 cm this legendary building used exclusively by at the family home. museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid artists where Homer painted his friend’s Aside from De Kay’s specific connec­ inv. 740 (1976.16) portrait. The inscription on the skirting tions with the literary world through her board depicted in the painting refers to family and friendships, books are a recur­ another date, however: 3 June 1874. This ring element in female portraits of this was the day Helena de Kay married the writ­ period in which reading was associated er and publisher Richard Watson Gilder, with escapism. The closed book, which whom she had also met in 1872. To mark occupies a central role as the tip of the the event Homer gave this painting to the triangle it forms with the head and the sitter, who kept it her whole life. flower, also has significant evocative power The sober image of Helena de Kay is as it refers to what happens before or after accompanied by two elements steeped it is read. With her head hanging but eyes in symbolism: the red rose, stripped of its open, here De Kay seems to be engrossed petals lying on the floor, and the book in in her thoughts – who knows if they are her hands. The rose is probably a reference related to the contents of the book, whose to flower painting, the genre De Kay prac­ title is unknown, or to the many events tised as an artist. The fallen petals can also linked to this portrait. THEMATIC TOURS 8 Woman and Books

[ROOM 30] a woman has just closed a folder. ly spread across Europe and America. As a She pauses to rest, as if reflecting on representative of the Impressionist school what she has been looking at up until a in the United States and influenced by WILLIAM MERRITT CHASE few seconds ago. A magazine stand and James McNeill Whistler, who provided Ninevah, 1849–New York, 1916 a few sheets of paper scattered on the floor American artists with a European connec­ attest to the activity preceding this moment tion, Chase adopted a few compositional A Girl in Japanese Gown. of calm. In this painting of a woman the features characteristic of Japanese prints The Kimono, c. 1887 American artist William Merritt Chase and certain elements of Oriental styles, illustrates the craze for things Japanese such as the upward perspective and asym­ Oil on canvas, 89.5 x 115 cm during the last third of the 1800s. The metry of the composition. museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid, artist, as if a voyeur, has penetrated into Chase also became a keen collector of inv. 501 (1979.24) this dark, intimate scene where a woman objects from Asian cultures, some of which dressed in Oriental style has been contem­ he included in his own works from the plating what appear to be Japanese draw­ 1880s onwards. Some of these pieces are ings or prints. recognisable in A Girl in Japanese Gown. Following the opening up of Japan and The Kimono, which belongs to a series of the expansion of the trade routes in the ‘kimono portraits’ the American artist mid-19th century, Japonisme immediate­ painted of a few relatives and friends.

[ROOM M] henri-eugène le sidaner, who was Pointillism. However, as can be seen in this born in the French colony of Mauritius, composition, Le Sidaner did not espouse trained as a painter in Paris, but produced the Symbolists’ interest in literature and HENRI LE SIDANER much of his early work from his retreat in remained faithful to . Port-Louis, 1862–Versailles, 1939 the small port of Étaples, near Calais, under In this rural landscape a stone valley the influence of the Impressionists and crosses the composition from side to side An Autumn Evening, 1895 Postimpressionists. In 1894 he returned and divides the painting into two. Behind to Paris during the height of the Symbolist the wall a group of houses and a row of Oil on canvas, 50.2 x 61.9 cm trends and painted An Autumn Evening trees are bathed in the soft light char­ carmen thyssen-bornemisza collection on loan there the following year. acteristic of winter. In front of the wall at the museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, The diffuse light, soft colours and inti- a woman strolls alone holding a book. inv. ctb.2000.5 mate sentimentalism of the scene can be Amid the peace and quiet conveyed by linked to the new Symbolism, whereas the the scene, the girl enjoys a moment of style of execution vaguely recalls Seurat’s solitude, engrossed in reading. THEMATIC TOURS 9 Woman and Books

[ROOM O] jeanne-marie carette became the some colour lithographs. Scholars have French painter Henri Manguin’s favourite even argued that the left-hand image might model in 1899, the year they married. In be a metaphor of the importance of the HENRI MANGUIN the garden of their marital home on the genre of the nude in prints during the Paris, 1874–Saint-Tropez, 1949 Rue Boursault in Paris they built a studio period. It has also been suggested that with removable panels where their sitting Manguin might be alluding to Ambroise The Prints, 1905 sessions took place for more than thirty Vollard and his active work as a publish­ years. Jeanne plays a double role in The er of series of lithographs. Indeed, the Oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm Prints, executed six years after their wed­ gallery owner became the first owner of carmen thyssen-bornemisza collection on loan ding. She is depicted naked on the left this work in March 1906. at the museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, with her back to the viewer but also on The Prints belongs to the French tradi­ inv. ctb.1997.35 the right, clothed and positioned frontally. tion, begun by Delacroix, of depicting As the title indicates, a book of prints seated women in an indoor setting. It is the focal point of this complex compo­ displays noticeable traces of Manguin’s sition, one of Manguin’s most ambitious relationship with Henri Matisse, his friend works. The two figures, sitting opposite since his formative years and subsequent­ each other on what appears to be a couch ly his travelling companion during his or a narrow bed, turn to gaze at the prints foray into Fauvism. A further influence is held by the clothed one. Here the painter, the discovery of the work of Ingres – who who depicts his wife reading in other proved to be a revelation for both – which works, shows both versions of Jeanne is evident in the composition of the nude engrossed in analysing what could be with her back to the viewer.

[ROOM L] georges d’espagnat became estab- inundate the scene. The main motif is not, lished as a painter in turn-of-the-century however, the holly, pansies, hyacinths Postimpressionist Paris, where he promot­ and stocks mentioned in the poem but GEORGES D’ESPAGNAT ed the creation of independent salons and the figure of the woman who holds and Melun, 1870–Paris, 1950 showed his work alongside that of Bonnard gazes at an open book on her lap, carefully and Matisse. Besides admiring Renoir, the framed by the window, vases of flowers Simone, c. 1907 Impressionist master he knew personally, and mountains flanking the bench. he was interested in the compositions of Outdoor leisure activities, such as read­ Oil on canvas, 65.3 x 81.5 cm Old Masters such as Titian, Tintoretto, ing in a park or garden, became a favourite carmen thyssen-bornemisza collection on loan Rubens and Delacroix and frequented the subject for Impressionist and Postimpres­ at the museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, company of contemporary Symbolist writ­ sionist painters. The woman is shown at inv. ctb.2000.61 ers. This canvas stems from the illustrations a moment of self-reflection, enjoyment he made in 1906 for the collection of poems or amusement, engaged in an everyday by Rémy de Gourmont, Simone. Poème act that was becoming accessible to more champêtre. The sobriety of the illustration people and social classes. Apparently obliv­ accompanying ‘Le Houx’ (Holly), one of the ious to her idyllic surroundings, Simone poems in which Simone is the common is absorbed in the book, whose title is not thread, contrasts with this painted version visible. This establishes a sort of secret he produced the following year, in which between the object and the girl that shrouds the warmth and exuberance of the colour the scene in a certain amount of mystery. THEMATIC TOURS 10 Woman and Books

[ROOM 40] edward hopper started out as a could have happened to this solitary semi­ member of the so-called American Scene, naked young woman in a stark hotel room a group of artists who shared an interest in the middle of the night. Perhaps she EDWARD HOPPER in American subjects, but very soon devel­ has just arrived and has taken off her Nyack, 1882–New York, 1967 oped his own style of melancholic, simpli­ hat, dress and shoes and, not yet having fied depictions of contemporary reality. In unpacked, has sat down languidly on the Hotel Room, 1931 1924 he married Jo Nivinson, who posed edge of the bed to read a yellowed sheet as a model for many of his compositions of paper with the introspection typical of Oil on canvas, 152.4 x 165.7 cm and kept a detailed record of the painter’s the female figures in Hopper’s paintings. museo nacional thyssen-bornemisza, madrid, works throughout her lifetime. We know from Jo’s exhaustive notes that inv. 594 (1977.110) In 1931 Jo sat for the taciturn female fig­ it is a train timetable; this leads us to won­ ure in Hotel Room. Hopper painted her at der why this solitary, modern woman has the lowest point of the Great Depression, decided to travel. Could she have decided which, for him, symbolised the crisis of to flee and start a new life? modern life. The painting is the first in a Hopper accentuates the dramatic effect long series of works picturing solitary fig­ of the scene by means of electric light­ ures in interiors in different hotels and bars. ing, which creates powerful contrasts of In all of them Hopper’s , a combi­ lights and shadows. The angle of vision nation of trueness to life and a powerful­ and upward perspective with marked ly moving quality, transforms what might diagonals directs our gaze towards the otherwise be simple scenes of daily life in­ background, where a half-open window to metaphors of loneliness and frustration. reveals the pitch blackness of the night Its narrative nature so characteris­ – a symbol of the uncertainty hovering tic of his work leads us to imagine what over the woman. 11 MUSEUM PLAN

SECOND FLOOR 1 Early Italian Painting 2 Gothic Painting 3 Early Netherlandish Painting 4 The Quattrocento (Italian art) 5 The Portrait (Early Renaissance) 6 The Villahermosa Gallery 7 Italian Painting (16th century) 8 9 German Painting (16th century) 10 Netherlandish Painting (16th century) 11 Titian, Tintoretto, Bassano, El Greco 12 Caravaggio and the Early Baroque 13 14 15 Italian, French and Spanish Painting (17th century) 16 17 18 Italian Painting (18th century) 19 Flemish Painting (17th century) 20 Dutch Painting (Italianate movements) 21 Dutch Painting (17th century: portraits) A Italian Painting (17th century) B Flemish and Dutch Painting (17th century) C Views and Landscapes Gallery D 18 th-century Painting E-F 19 th-century American Painting FIRST FLOOR G Naturalism and the Rural World H Early Impressionism

22 23 24 25 26 Dutch Painting (17th century: scenes of daily life, interiors and landscapes) 27 Still Lifes (17th century) 28 From the Rococo to Neoclassicism (18th-century painting) 29 30 American Painting (19th century) 31 European Painting (19th century, from Romanticism to Realism) 32 Impressionist Painting 33 Post-impressionist Painting 34 Fauve Painting 35 36 37 Expressionist Painting (20th century) 38 Expressionist Painting (the Blue Rider group) 39 Expressionist Painting 40 Expressionist Painting (New Objectivity) J American Impressionism K Late Impressionism L Gauguin and Post-impressionism (1) M Post-impressionism (2) GROUND FLOOR N German Expressionism O Fauvism information P Cubism and Orphism ticket desk cloakroom 41 42 43 44 The Experimental Avant-gardes gift shop- bookshop 45 The Synthesis of the Modern (Europe) wheelchair lift to 46 The Synthesis of the Modern (USA) basement level 47 48 Late Surrealism. The Figurative Tradition and Pop Art cafeteria- restaurant

Some works may not be displayed in their normal location if they are on loan, being restored or in a temporary exhibition