The artist Wilhelm Leibl (1844-1900) dedicated himself to painting realistic but sensitive portrayals of everyday life in rural Germany. This painting shows an older peasant reading the Münchner Neueste Nachrichten. Leibl’s implied commentary on the ceremonial, gendered nature of newspaper reading (and the similarly gendered public discourse in which well-informed readers were supposed to participate) is amplified by the presence of two women who sit quietly in the background, gazing at each other but not engaging in conversation. Original: Museum Folkwang, Essen.
