Self-taught until the age of 19, Almeida Júnior was later admitted to the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro, where he studied under Victor Meirelles (1832-1903) and Jules Le Chevreul (1810-1872). His early paintings caught the attention of the Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II (1825-1891), who financed his studies in Paris. He was an outstanding student at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he was taught by Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889). Almeida Júnior produced portraits, landscapes and seascapes. His best-known works depict everyday life in the countryside. The influence of Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) and Millet (1814-1875) contributed to an emphasis on realism in his representation of nature and people. Almeida Júnior’s work stands out in the panorama of 19th-century Brazilian culture for its representation of rural scenes that describe specifically Brazilian human types. MASP’s work is notable in the set, along with Caipira picando fumo [Caipira Cutting Tobacco] (1893) and Amolação interrompida [Interrupted Whetting] (1894), both of which belong to the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo. The title of this work, Young Woman with Book (undated) is probably a misnomer. The cut of the hair, and the shirt open at the chest suggest that the subject is actually a teenage boy immersed in reverie while reading.
— MASP Curatorial Team, 2017
