The theme of reading was the subject of several of the artist’s compositions, in individual or group portraits, assuming a prominent position in his work. The painting is an excellent example of the intimate quality of Henri Fantin-Latour, always faithful to an ideal of portraying realistic moods.

The work introduces the viewer to the artist’s chosen universe, a poetic and dreamy domestic environment with vaguely melancholic contours. To the left of the canvas we can identify Victoria Dubourg, the painter’s future wife; to the right, the enigmatic figure of Charlotte Dubourg dominates, staring intensely at the viewer and/or the painter.

A significant aspect of the composition is the inner isolation that separates the two sisters. The contrast between the illuminated area and the darker part of the painting accentuates the ambiguity between proximity and distance, giving the scene the suggestion of a contained ‘mental’ restlessness that is also present in other portraits by the painter.