Young Woman Reading (1880) | Osman Hamdi Bey | Painting Art Print | Wall Frame

The impeccably rendered dress of the kneeling figure and the decorative background against which she is set, rich in colour and Islamic designs, are virtual signatures of the artist, as is the startling clarity of the picture's highly detailed style. The precision of its surface, however, masks significant ambiguities at its core: The book that the woman has chosen, the direction of her gaze, and even the parting of her lips and the buttons at her neck, all serve to undermine our first impressions of the scene. What begins as a pretty harem picture, in other words, becomes a complicated and multi-referential text which addresses a variety of topical issues within the landscapes of Orientalism, 19th century art history, and aspects of the artist's biography itself. Through its transposition of British, French, and Turkish models, and its manipulation of their themes, Young Woman Reading demonstrates the unique nature of Osman Hamdi's Orientalism, and his artful game.

In Young Woman Reading, the familiar eroticism of the harem has been tempered by the buttoned-up façade of the female figure and her compact, self-contained pose. Placed in the room like a flattened paper doll, her body becomes less seductive than decorative, and less corporeal than another colourful shape arranged against the patterned wall. 

 Our professionally remastered artwork comes in two variations:

1 .Matte: 12 X 18 inch high definition quality print -  300 gsm Matte Finish Art Paper Rolled in a Shipping Tube.

2. Frame: 14 X 20 inch finest quality photo frame -  Golden/Black Frame Finish.