Join us in reading Women Who Read Are Dangerous by Stefan Bollmann and see a wide variety of artworks featuring women reading. Enjoy an exciting discussion on the artworks pictured in the book and explore the ZMA’s collection of reading women.
“An elegant survey of over seventy works of art featuring women reading throughout history.
What is it about a woman reading that has captivated hundreds of artists over the centuries? Stefan Bollmann's Women Who Read Are Dangerous explores this popular subject in more than seventy artworks―drawings, paintings, photographs, and print―by iconic artists such as Henri Matisse, Edward Hopper, Suzanne Valadon, August Sander, Rembrandt, and many more.
As the book’s provocative title indicates, a woman reading was once viewed as radical. In chapters, such as “Intimate Moments” and “The Search for Oneself,” Bollmann profiles how a woman with a book was once seen as idle or suspect and how women have gained autonomy through reading over the years.
Bollmann offers intelligent and engaging commentary on each work of art in Women Who Read Are Dangerous, telling us who the subject is, her relationship to the artist, and even what she is reading. With works ranging from a 1333 Annunciation painting of the angel Gabriel speaking to the Virgin Mary, book in hand, to twentieth-century works, such as a stunning photograph of Marilyn Monroe reading Ulysses, this appealing survey provides a veritable slideshow of the many iterations of a woman and her book―a compelling subject to this day. An excellent gift for graduates, teachers, or Mother’s Day, this elegant book should appeal to anyone interested in art, literature, or women’s history.”
This event takes at the ZMA in the 1st Floor Library.
A limited number of copies are available to borrow from the ZMA. Please contact education coordinator Misty Johnson to check availability at education@zanesvilleart.org.
Thursday,January 30, 6–7 pm, at the ZMA. Free and open to the public. Register by January 29, 2025.
