The readers

by Jacques-Émile Blanche (1890)

“The Readers” is a series of paintings done by the French artist Jacques-Emile Blanche. They were completed between the years 1890 and 1900.

The French theorist Derrida once wrote that the act of reading produces “a reading subject”, or, a subject who reads. What he meant is that when we read, we become part of a community of readers. Even though we read in isolation, the act of reading makes us silent participants in a tradition and community of reading. What you might call “the act of reading.”

The sitter for the painting above was a model named Lucie Ernaux. The artist painted her throughout her life, depicting her first as a child and eventually as an adult (as seen here).

In the painting above we see a reflection of a man, possibly the painter himself.

The title”the readers” suggests that Emile-Blanche was interested in depicting a new type: the modern, elegant woman, who also enjoyed literature. The series implies that these women were not just solitary figures, but rather part of an active readership, a literary community of sorts. Their body language shows them captivated in their books, or, as John Green once described it, “the magic of turning scratches on a page into words inside your head.”

I’ve always enjoyed paintings of people reading. And to my mind these are some of the most elegant ones. I hope they inspire you to pick up a good book today, and enjoy a quiet moment of reading and contemplation.

Julian

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