The image of a woman with a pensive gaze, opened book, and head weighing heavily on one hand is a classic image of melancholy, as seen in works by Albrecht Dürer, El Greco, and Camille Corot. The head casts a prominent shadow against what appears to be a back wall, suggesting that Woman with a Book began as an interior scene. The trees and mountains at upper left were added later, producing a contradictory reading of both the pictorial space and the narrative scene.