Young Woman Reading (Ines)
1909–10
Medium
Charcoal, watercolor, and wax crayon on paper
Dimensions
18 3/8 x 13 1/8 in. (46.7 x 33.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Lydia Winston Malbin, 1989
Accession Number
1990.38.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
Umberto Boccioni’s *Young Woman Reading (Ines)* offers an intimate glimpse into a quiet moment of contemplation. Created between 1909 and 1910, the portrays a young woman absorbed in her book, her downward gaze and relaxed posture conveying a sense of everyday calm. The work belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s modern collection, where it highlights Boccioni’s early interest in human subjects before his later embrace of more dynamic themes. The artist employs a distinctive mix of charcoal, watercolor, and wax crayon on paper. Charcoal provides soft, velvety shading that models the figu...
About the Artist
Umberto Boccioni · 1882–1916
Umberto Boccioni (1882–1916) was an Italian painter and sculptor who became the leading artist and principal theorist of the Futurist movement. Born in Reggio Calabria, he studied in Rome under the Divisionist painter Giacomo Balla and was deeply influenced by Post-Impressionism before encountering the ideas of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, whose 1909 Futurist Manifesto catalyzed Boccioni's artistic ...