Schoolchild Reading (Girl)

The girl sits on a low woven bench, her burgundy dress trimmed in gold at the collar and hem and spread across her knees. An open exercise book lies on her lap, filled with written lines, and her right hand follows one of them with a blue pen. The left hand is raised to the shoulder, fingers closed — a pause in the middle of the work. Under the ruffled bonnet the face is turned out, and white socks and russet strap shoes show below the hem.