To the right, below Greek letters on a wall spelling ΟΜΗΡ ('Homer'), a young seated man with a laurel wreath on his head appears to be reciting from a scroll, although he has looked up from the text to his audience.

Unlike the lofty classicism of earlier painters such as Jacques-Louis David, this version focuses on mundane situations and typically does not derive its subject matter from a specific historical model or literary work.

[6] Before the painting was finished, Alma-Tadema was commissioned in 1884 to design the furnishings for Marquand's music room of his mansion in New York City, drawing visual inspiration from ancient Greece and Pompeii.

A Reading from Homer was installed on a wall in this room, together with Amo Te, Ama Me, and items of furniture designed by Alma-Tadema including an extravagantly decorated inlaid piano.

[7] The room also had three ceiling paintings of the Muses commissioned from Frederic Leighton, one with Mnemosyne accompanying Melpomene and Thalia, and separate canvases depicting Terpsichore and Erato each with an attendant (it appears the main panel was broken up, and parts were sold in 2020 and 2021: all in private collections).