The Painter’s Daughters is historical fiction based on the lives of the daughters of the 18th century English artist Thomas Gainsborough. They are MarThe Painter’s Daughters is historical fiction based on the lives of the daughters of the 18th century English artist Thomas Gainsborough. They are Mary, called Molly, and Margaret, called Peggy, given the same name as her mother. As the story begins, we find the family living in Ipswich, in Suffolk, with Thomas dividing his painting between the landscapes he loved and the portraits that could support his family. The two girls enjoy running through the fields and playing which is leading to heated discussions between their parents. Father wants to stay in Ipswich and enjoys seeing his daughters enjoy a free, happy life. Mother is concerned for their future, how they will enter society, meet husbands. And she worries that Thomas is missing a more lucrative clientele if they were to relocate to Bath.
Another issue that slowly begins to arise is rather odd, occasionally alarming incidents when Molly seems to not be herself. Peggy witnesses this more than her parents but becomes her sister’s protector, sensing this is something to hide.
There is an alternating thread in this novel, from the point of view of a young woman named Meg. She narrates her story beside Peggy’s, but from years earlier. Not until the end of the book is the full impact of Meg’s tale revealed with the threads coming together.
The problem I had with this novel primarily relates to Meg’s narrative. While I do understand its relevance to the story, I felt that it slowed the primary narrative too much. Peggy’s story lost momentum and, in a non-action story, forward motion is important to maintain. I was tempted to stop reading but I’m glad that I didn’t as I would have missed the end of Molly and Peggy’s stories.
My rating is 3.5 rounded down to 3.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This review is my own....more
This is the first time I have read a book from Jonathan Santlofer, so I haven’t experienced The Last Mona Lisa, many of whose characters return here iThis is the first time I have read a book from Jonathan Santlofer, so I haven’t experienced The Last Mona Lisa, many of whose characters return here in this story of art theft and art history. This was not an issue on entering into the art world of Luke Perrone, Alex Verde and John Smith. By pure happenstance, Alex purchases a fairly simple painting while upstate in New York one weekend. Returning home, her partner Luke accidentally nicks one corner of the painting and discovers that there is something else underneath. Is this a lost Van Gogh?
So begins another adventure in the long history of stolen art, and an education in more of the horrors of the Nazi era…and how they stretch into today. The story offers some excellent history for readers who have not encountered details of Nazi plundering of European cultural artifacts and there is an interesting bibliography also.
But the story itself had problems before its exciting ending. The most grievous for me were the constant unknown references that made conversations and actions confusing and sometimes almost meaningless. Almost every character was in contact with someone unknown to us, as readers, and to their friends and associates. For me, this went beyond making the story either exciting or thrilling. It made it maddening. I almost stopped reading but I wanted to see how it ended. The ending was exciting and did answer a lot of questions, but there had been so many characters introduced in the course of the book that I was still confused about some of them. Just too much! Possibly 3.5, rounded down for my frustration.
Thanks to Sourcebook and NetGalley for a copy of this book. This review is my own....more
Thunderclap: A memoir of art and life & sudden death is the story of much more than one man, one artist, who happened to die in the fateful titled ThuThunderclap: A memoir of art and life & sudden death is the story of much more than one man, one artist, who happened to die in the fateful titled Thunderclap in Delft in October of 1654. Carel Fabritius was one of the hundreds who died that day but is actually only one of Laura Cumming’s subjects. Her lens takes in the world of Dutch art, the famous and less famous practitioners, the subjects of the many works she has seen since her childhood, visiting Holland as the child of an artist, knowing museums as a child, seeing art throughout her life.
Cummings does return frequently to Fabritius and to her father to ground her discussion of mortality of the artist vs the possible timelessness of the creations themselves. There are some thoughtful and, for me, eye-opening examinations of specific paintings by Fabritius and Vermeer. Her artistic lens is primarily focused on Fabritius’s A View of Delft.
In part a discussion of Dutch art, part a biography of Fabritius and some other Dutch figures of the 17th century, part a discussion of her family’s early trips to Holland and their impact on her future as well as her father’s, this is also a glimpse into her father’s life as an artist. Cumming combines knowledge of the world of art with a fine writing style to deliver a book that should be read by anyone with an interest in history and/or art.
Thanks to Scribner of Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of this book. This review is my own....more
This is stated more than once in Claire McMillan’s historical fictionalized biography of artist Remedi‘Art is for the things we don’t have words for.’
This is stated more than once in Claire McMillan’s historical fictionalized biography of artist Remedios Varo and her life among the other artists and cultural icons, especially of the surrealist movement, caught up in the madness and fear which engulfed Paris and France as the Nazi army advanced toward the city. Not long into the novel, Remedios, her lover Benjamin Peret, and others are forced to escape for Marseilles where they will stay until they can find some way to leave France. Here they connect with Varian Fry at Villa Air Bel which has been serving as a safe house for artists that Fry is working to help out of Europe. During this time at Marseilles we see the Remedios renew and strengthen the connection to the Tarot that helps structure this book and her life. Here too, Remedios learns of her friend, and fellow artist, Leonora Carrington’s placement in a mental hospital in Spain. The table has been set and everyone is in place and about to begin their new lives.
Considering that I knew nothing of Varo or a Arrington or their art before reading this book and only limited information about the other artists, thinkers and writers involved, I found this story very interesting and the structure used, original and in keeping with Remedios Varo’s apparent philosophy of life. The story is essentially told through Remedios’s point of view, while periodically we hear from other important characters who are also identified by tarot cards, with appropriate descriptions. We readers receive a brief introduction into some of the cards’s meanings.
Following the transformation of an artist from someone’s muse to becoming an independent creator is a fascinating process, and I believe McMillan has fashioned a wonderful novel in Alchemy of a Blackbird. I know that I want to find whatever of Varo’s art may be available to view online after the descriptions I’ve just read.
I recommend this book to those interested in art, women in art. This is fiction, but based in fact.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy of this book. This review is my own....more
Michael Finkel has written one of the more unusual true crime books in producing this tome outlining the criminal career of Stephane Breitwieser, a FrMichael Finkel has written one of the more unusual true crime books in producing this tome outlining the criminal career of Stephane Breitwieser, a French man from the Alsace region who has one, possibly two, true loves in his life. His primary love is art, works of art, precious works of art of the primarily 17th century. His second love is the young woman who accompanies him during many of his exploits—a compulsive career of art theft solely for his personal pleasure.
In sections that occasionally made me squirm with discomfort, the reader accompanies Stephane on some of his “missions”, for they feel like tasks he is compelled to perform. The author presents this story from multiple perspectives: from that of Stephane Breitwieser, from the views of various psychiatrists and psychologists who have attempted to analyze him and his need for works of art, from the viewpoints of the police departments who eventually discovered and stopped him. It’s estimated that he probably stole more than 300 objects, all to keep and enjoy, all from small museums throughout Europe.
After that beginning, where we live with this man as he travels and commits his crimes (or “liberations”), the story grows increasingly complex and interesting as it opens up more facets of the story, the people and the eventual chase. I think that I found the beginning section unsettling because it was presented with no counter, no evidence of any price to be paid and, indeed, there wasn’t one for some time.
I do recommend this book to true crime enthusiasts, especially those interested in art crime and psychology.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a preview copy of this book. The review is my own....more
In a work that combines memoir, historical recreation and investigation with family history, Teresa Tumminello Brader tells the story of her uncle, heIn a work that combines memoir, historical recreation and investigation with family history, Teresa Tumminello Brader tells the story of her uncle, her mother’s brother, William Toye, a man guilty of forging art for much of his adult life. But his life had been kept largely secret from her. As she walks through the many steps of searching through her own memories of her family, Brader shows the limitations and peculiarities of memories, how family members often remember the same event differently or not at all.
I enjoyed the process of watching the stages of discovery, synchronizing what were once vague ideas or shadows of memory become firmed into facts, often unsettling but at least filling the void that had existed before. She has done a service to her family and to Clementine Hunter and the art world. Recommended for those interested in memoir, art crime, family history, and intricacies of memory....more
Loading...
