The Literary Quintet by Wilhelm Menzler: A Reading Party on the Terrace (1910)
On a stone terrace above a park, a young woman in a pale pink gown stands with an open book, reading aloud and pointing with her free hand as if the words demanded it. Four friends listen from the balustrade and the garden sofa: one leans her chin on her hand, one turns her whole body toward the reader, two sit close together, one of them under a wide feathered hat. Behind them a cupid statue plays among the trees and a lake opens toward distant hills. The Literary Quintet , painted by the German artist Wilhelm Menzler and signed and dated 1910, is a picture about one of the quiet pleasures of its age: listening to someone read. Quick facts Artist: Wilhelm Menzler (1846–1926), born in Kassel Date: 1910 (signed and dated lower right, “W. Menzler 1910”) Medium: Oil on canvas Subject: Five women on a garden terrace; one reads aloud to the others Notable fact: Part of the Best Sellers collection of the Sapiens Verbum print shop Wilhelm Menzler, The Literary Quintet ...