K. J. Obratil bookplate. Artist: Alfred Liebing.
A woman leans on a large book while standing on on oversized man’s head. Vines encircle all.
Dr. Wolf Rudiger Solveen bookplate (1987). Artist: Erhard Zierold.
A woman wearing a fancy hat is reading a book.
The Penitent Magdalen (c.1613-1622). Domenico Fetti (Italian, c.1588-1623). Oil on canvas. Hampton Court Palace.
The Magdalen is shown weeping, her head leaning on the palm of her right hand, her elbow resting on a large book. She looks downwards, contemplating a skull held in her left hand. A blue mantle covers her head and shoulders. The penitence of St Mary Magdalen is a traditional subject, particularly popular in seventeenth-century Italian art. The saint's tumbling hair references the Gospel of Luke (7:37-8), which describes a woman who was a sinner, unnamed but usually identified with the Magdalen, who anointed Christ's feet, washing them with her tears and then drying them with her hair, when he was in the house of the Pharisee.
J. P. Bougha bookplate (1974). Artist: Enrico Vanuccini.
Two woman read a book titled Le Livre del Amour.
Max Conrad bookplate. Artist: Georg Oskar Erler.
A woman reads a book on a divan while supporting her legs on a pile of books.
Ellu Paljak bookplate (1974). Artist: Evald Okas.
A woman reads a book in a landscape. Another woman flies above.
Princesse de Rohan (1741). Jean-Marc Nattier (French, 1685-1766). Oil on canvas. Toledo Museum of Art. Jean-Marc Nattier became known for his portraits of aristocratic women presented as goddesses, seasons, or elements of nature. These allegories also showed the sitter relaxed and at ease, charming and delightful in simple garments and a natural setting. Here Marie-Sophie de Courcillon, the Princesse de Rohan, holds a book entitled Histoire universelle (Universal History); she is perhaps intended to symbolize the muse of learning. She did indeed have a reputation as a cultured and learned woman, and presided over a lively salon at her fashionable, palatial home in Paris, the Hôtel de Soubise.
Andreas Neumert bookplate (1990). Artist: Erhard Zierold.
A woman reads from a book as an owl looks on. The Decameron, subtitled Prince Galehaut, is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men; they shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived of The Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic.
Unknown owner bookplate (2011). Artist: Vladimir Verechagin.
A woman is reading from a book as she leans against another figure who is also reading a book. An owl looks to be landing on the woman.
Galambos Ferenc bookplate (1866). Artist: Evald Okas.
A woman reads from a book. She stands in front of a bookcase filled with books.
Ludw. Arthur Haft bookplate (1917). Artist: Martin E. Philipp.
Woman reads a book while reclining on bed.
Majlath bookplate. Artist: István Prihoda.
A man reads from a book, perhaps a passage which contains a woman, here depicted on his shoulders.
Josef Saar bookplate. Artist: Leo Frank.
A woman reads a book while lying in bed. A large bird is perched on the edge of the bed.
Karl Astor bookplate (1994). Artist: Walter Helfenbein.
A woman leans on the book titled Don Quixote while the story is represented behind her.
Marta Buiko with book and architecture for Marie Claire Greece, April 2020. Photograph by Nikos Papadopoulos.
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