Thank Johannes for Books!

Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized printing with his invention of movable type, and on this day in 1452, the first section of the Gutenberg Bible was published.

Wouldn't it be great to curl up with a book—perhaps one a bit smaller than the Gutenberg Bible—and forget about everything else?

The private pleasure that reading affords is captured in this painting of a young woman poring over an ancient volume. The dark, painterly realism of the work reflects artist Walter Shirlaw's training in Munich, where he studied for six years and became associated with Frank Duveneck and William Merritt Chase. He was also a founder-member and first president of the Society of American Artists.

Source: Grove Dictionary of Art Online at http://www.groveart.com.

Pictured: Walter Shirlaw, 1838 Scotland–1909 Spain, Among the Old Poets, undated, oil, 16 1/2 x 20 1/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans.