The Reading
by MANET, Edouard, Oil on canvas, 61 x 74 cm
The painting represents Madame Manet and her son, Leon Koella.
Charming and seductive, Manet loved women rather as he loved flowers, and was always surrounded by willing models. For a while, he contended himself with portraying his wife in various poses, in Reading and in the pastel Madame Manet on a Blue Sofa.