Laura MorelliBesprekingen
Auteur van The Night Portrait
Besprekingen
The Painter's Apprentice (Venetian Artisans, #1) door Laura Morelli
In this well-researched historical fiction, the subject of the painting commissioned by Ludovico in Moro, Cecilia Gallerani, comes to life as the regent of Milan’s mistress, mother of his illegitimate child, and later, Countess, married to Count Ludovico Carminati de Brambilla. But so do the 20th century heroes who risk their lives to keep her image safe: more specifically, a German art conservator, Edith Becker, who is essentially imprisoned by Hans Frank, the Butcher of Poland; and a young Italian-American soldier — a husband, father of two daughters, Pennsylvania coal miner by trade, artist by hobby—who is assigned at times to work with the Monuments Men, who were attempting to save and recover all the works of art the Nazis stole throughout Europe.
Leonardo - he dreams of how to please his patron. Strengthen the castle, build a better bridge, make a man fly? He could work on all of that if he just had the time! And now the patron wants a portrait of some girl? Well, he's going to make this portrait different than expected.
Edith - she followed her father into art conservation but all the Nazis want day after day is her ranking on the art they bring her. Truckload after truckload of stolen art. Unfortunately her boss has taken a shine to both Edith and the da Vinci and he's hell bent on keeping them both for himself.
Dominic - he used to spend his downtime making charcoal drawings of his wife, trying to remember her features. Imagining what their newest child looks like. He used to love art, but the brutal death of his fellow soldiers has beaten all the passion out of him. Until one day his commander introduces him to a detail called the Monuments Men - can he find any purpose again?
I enjoyed this book so much! It took me forever to read it. It was engaging and enjoyable, I just couldn’t seem to make good ground while reading it… and then it was over. I loved the imagined life of this real painting and I enjoyed the trials that Edith and Dominic endured and overcame.
to learn more and to see a photo of the Monuments Men with the painting visit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_with_an_Ermine
The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 was the lack of an emotional connection I felt between me and Josie and Eva. Maybe there wasn't enough about their backstories to give me a link to them, but they were solid leading ladies. My husband now wants to read this little gem.
I will be honest, I did not feel a great connection to the characters in this story. But, what kept me reading was the history. This story is so well researched. I am fascinated by the history surrounding many art pieces. So, this novel really captivated me on what actually happened to the art in Italy. I learned so much and now I want to go over there and investigate!
I enjoyed the strong women as well! And to know this is based on the true story of WAC…HUGE PLUS!
Need a wonderful, art history tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the author for a honest review.
Influenced by a true story, this novel is filled with narrative that will make the reader feel as if they’re in Florence helping others to evacuate the masterpieces to safety. The picture of Italy during the World War II was expertly executed. The plot was interesting, but I was expecting more drastic difference in stories of the two women. They were very similar to me. The Italian artworks were presented in deep detail, with great knowledge and fascination. If you are seeking stories about Italian works of art, reach out for Laura Morelli books.
Our protagonist, Luca, is the oldest son of one of Venices finest gondola makers, and when he completely burns his bridges (literally) on his future at his family’s squero he is left homeless and penniless. Refusing to leave the city he needs to find a way to survive and rebuild his life.
We then follow Luca’s ups and downs as he takes the reader on a journey around 16th century Venice through every layer of life.
It’s certainly not a book of twists and turns and subplots and stuff, it’s really quite a simple story. But it is a wonderfully written story that gives the reader a real feel of life in Venice from the view of the working gondoliers and those they interact with that make this book so compelling.
As shorts go it’s a good well written piece in much the same style as ‘The Gondola Maker’ at around the same time and place.
My only gripe is that i wanted more – which is why i gave it 4 stars and not 5, which is, in a weird way, a complement. It would certainly have made a great first chapter to a much more deeper look into Venice, and Europe, at the time of the Black Death.
Although Laura’s thing is art, so she’s probably not planning to write a full novel on bubonic plague.
Anyways, i’m looking forward to getting around to reading ‘The Painter’s Apprentice’ in the not too distant. I’m definitely a fan of Laura’s Venice. More please!
Can't win them all.
Both women are trying to save the art the Germans are taking and hiding.
We meet Ava who was taking photographs of art work and Josephine who joined the WAC's and is a stenographer.
We travel with both women and learn of what went on and what the plan was for all the art work.
I actually found it difficult to connect to the story line, but Ms. Morelli's research is impeccable, and her writing is detailed and beautiful as always.
Loved the mention of shorthand, the Italian dialogue, the photography information, and the role Italy played during the war and in the art in Florence.
It was very interesting to learn of Monuments Women. I had only heard of Monuments Men.
Art aficionados and art historians will devour this beautifully written book that tells of how art was protected during WWII. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
I hate to say it, but this book was boring. The two main characters blended together. At times I had to remind myself which point of view I was reading. Each chapter lists works of Florentine art, which grew extremely tedious as the book progressed. I found myself glossing over long and repetitious passages that glorified Florence and it's artists. Don't get me wrong, Florentine art is amazing, but this book tried too hard to convince me. I lost track of how many characters were speechless, stunned or fell to their knees after viewing a masterpiece. Editing out some of the repetitious material and giving the characters distinct personalities would have gone a long way. Overall, 2 out 5 stars.
3.5****
A work of historical fiction with a dual timeline – 1939 in France as the Germans are invading; and 1479 in Florence, when Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint a portrait of Lisa Gherandini. In both cases one woman takes it upon herself to ensure that the portrait remains hidden away in order to protect it.
In 1479 the loyal servant Bellina, illiterate and not always fully understanding the intricacies of Medici politics, takes it upon herself to secure an unfinished portrait of her mistress. In 1939, Anne works to help obfuscate and hide the inventories that point to the location of the precious artwork. Having learned to drive a truck she is sometimes pressed into service joining the convoys that move the Louvre’s treasures about the countryside, trying to keep one step ahead of the Nazis. Both storylines have moments of intense activity and suspense, along with romance thwarted (or delayed, or interrupted) by events occurring outside their control.
Between the two storylines, I clearly preferred the World War II one. I wasn’t sure that this novel needed the 15th century story line. For me, it distracted from the danger and adventure of the situation faced by the curators and workers of the Louvre who worked tirelessly to secure the museum’s collections – including, or especially, the Mona Lisa – from invading Nazis. However, I did find the story of the creation of the painting, including the “rivalry” between Da Vinci and “that upstart” Michelangelo, interesting. I had no idea that the artist had presented the painting to the French. I also appreciated the look at how politics and religious fervor affected the residents of Florence during this time frame. I think I would have enjoyed it more had the two time frames been treated in separate novels.
The audiobook is very well done by a trio of talented voice artists. This does help when switching time frames and/or narrators.
I also had the print version readily available and I’m glad I did for it included extensive author notes / interviews and historic photos of the Louvre staff moving these treasures.
In the late 1930s, the painting was part of a private collection in Poland. Art conservationist Edith Becker, an expert with Italian Renaissance paintings, was reassigned from her museum job to assist Hilter's movement by compiling a dossier of old masters in Polish collections. Her list and assistance helped the Nazis take priceless pieces of art and objects. In the 1940s, Dominic Bonelli, an American soldier was told he had a new job to work with the Monuments Men to get art works back from the Nazis and return it to their owners.
This WWII story is different from others as it's about the valuable pieces of stolen art and objects. The author did an incredible amount of research to create this emotional story told by four narrators which flows seamlessly. It's not necessarily one to read quickly as there is a lot to digest. In the book, Leonardo da Vinci says: "Man will always make war. But it is art and beauty, I think, that will give us something to live for." Once again, the author begs us to question: when will we learn?
My thanks to Laura Morelli, HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to rad this copy.
I was unaware of the salt mines in Austria, only Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines in Poland (World Heritage sites). Lots to be learned as a result of the author's research and gift of storytelling. The story centers on the paintings that were stolen by dictators during WW2 and places several women (an American, a German, and an Italian) who were there to document and help to preserve those wonders under conditions that were hazardous to them in many ways. It is very well written with smooth and moving prose as well as very definitive portrayals of both major and minor characters.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from William Morrow/William Morrow Paperbacks via NetGalley. Thank you!
The plot covers DaVinci's decision to leave Florence and journey to Milan, the painting of the portrait, Gallerani's life once she left the court, and what happened to the painting during WWII. The WWII period included following a German conservator (a woman character, not an actual person), and a young American soldier (not an actual person) who was assigned to the Mouments Men.
The book has several time lines which I normally complain about, but this is a good example of how those can be handled. When a new chapter begins there is a banner with the chapter number, name of the character we will be following, the location, and the date. No where am I now needed!
The painting was returned to the Czartoryski family in Poland and it can be seen at the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow. Morelli includes some of her resources in the book, but because there are many so a complete list is available on her website. This is the first book I've read by her but I have more on my TBR and look forward to them.
The opening is in Italy in 1476. Cecelia Gallerani has been told she must enter a convent as her brothers have gambled away her dowry. Instead, she seizes a chance and becomes the paramour of Ludovico il Moro, the Duke of Milan. The duke is so taken with her he has Leonardo da Vinci paint her portrait – the famous Lady with an Ermine.
In Munich Germany, 1939, Edith Becker, an art historian and restorer of paintings, is asked to do some research on art in Poland – eventually her research becomes the basis of art seized by the Nazis from condemned Jews, the general public and even churches. As Edith understands her part in the seizures, she is appalled but must continue to work for the Nazis. One of the most famous works seized and ultimately claimed by the man known as the Butcher of Poland is the Lady with an Ermine.
And finally the third timeline begins in Normandy in 1944 as the US military battles its way to Germany. Dominic, a soldier with a proclivity for sketching is part of the liberating forces.
Can such destruction ever be ameliorated? How do two women living five hundred years apart react to authority that gives them no alternatives?
The author is a PhD art historian. Her research makes this infamous chapter of Nazi history as well as the Lady With an Ermine really come alive.
Started slow but enjoyed it.
The Night Portrait utilizes intertwining plots to carry parallel stories regarding Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, Lady with an Ermine. There exist only 19 known paintings of de Vinci’s and this is one of them. The novel entertains and engages with its fictional storylines and enlightens with its historical accuracy regarding both the painting and its history.
One storyline explores the creation of the painting, coupling the life of its actual subject, Cecilia Gallerani with the work of the artist and inventor as she sits for the portrait. The other story tells of the efforts to preserve and protect the painting from theft by the Nazis in WW II and to re-patriate it to Poland where it is displayed today.
Author Laura Morelli develops storylines of such credibility that it becomes difficult to separate the facts from her creative reporting of them. Her writing is mature, her characters well-developed and credible, and her interweaving of the two plots artful and seamless.
In short, it is a very worthwhile novel with few flaws to detracts from its overall excellence.
The largest flaw occurs in the overall plot. In the plot, the author felt compelled to move one of the major characters from his engagement as a guard for the Monuments Men to have him witness the liberation of the Dachau Death Camp. While this detour is plausibly written into the plot, it nevertheless feels like an intrusion distracting the reader from the fictional storylines. The fact that the Dachau chapters are so graphic, so detailed, and so emotionally wrenching testifies to the ability of the author and that overall quality of writing about the death camp is probably the only thing that makes this distraction from the main plots acceptable.
There are additional flaws in some of the narrative regarding military dog-tags and the D-Day landing, but these do not detract from the overall storyline.
I like historical fiction, especially when it involves art or music. Through it, I have learned many things I might not otherwise have known. In fact, the historical fiction novels I have read have led me to study both music and art more deeply and with greater understanding. Novels such as The Night Portrait provide yet another reason for people to do more reading.
France, 1939
At the dawn of World War II, Anne Guichard, a young archivist employed at the Louvre, arrives home to find her brother missing. While she works to discover his whereabouts, refugees begin flooding into Paris and German artillery fire rattles the city. Once they reach the city, the Nazis will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Louvre's art collection. Anne is quickly sent to the Castle of Chambord, where the Louvre's most precious artworks - including the Mona Lisa - are being transferred to ensure their safety. With the Germans hard on their heels, Anne frantically moves the Mona Lisa and other treasures again and again in an elaborate game of hide and seek. As the threat to the masterpieces and her life grows closer, Anne also begins to lean the truth about her brother and the role he plays in this dangerous game.
Florence, 1479
House servant Bellina Sardi's future seems fixed when she accompanies her newly married mistress, Lisa Gherardini, to her home across the Arno. Lisa's husband, a prosperous silk merchant, is aligned with the powerful Medici, his home filled with luxuries and treasures. But soon, Bellina finds herself bewitched by a charismatic one who has urged Florentines to rise up against the Medici and to empty their homes of the riches and jewels her new employer prizes. When Master Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint a portrait of Lisa, Bellina finds herself tasked with hiding an impossible secret.
To say that I loved this story is an understatement. The richness of Florence and Milan set a striking contrast to the French countryside where the Louvre employees lived a spartan existence under Nazi rule. In my mind you cannot find a more beautiful setting than Florence. I love the art, cathedrals, fabrics and food. The pleasures that the ruling class were lucky to have engaged in will always seduce my imagination. If only to be rich in Florence during the Middle Ages.
One of the secondary characters, Lucie, is based on a real woman who, as a Louvre employee, documented the movement of the artworks from Paris to the countryside. Through her efforts we know what happened during this time period. Our protagonist Anne worked under Lucie at the Louvre but they were equals during the run from the Nazis. The author drew upon Lucie's documentation to write this part of the story. While I can't get enough of the Italian Renaissance period I believe that Anne's story is the most compelling.
The author gives us an interesting viewpoint into how Da Vinci felt about his Mona Lisa. We see him as he begins the portrait and decades later before his death. Morelli shows him initially believing that a portrait will never bring him accolades. However, he never truly believes that the painting is finished and works on it periodically while he looks for other commissions that will bring him fame. He too is captivated by the smile that he remembers the real Lisa had and endeavors to recreate it in this portrait.
The Stolen Lady is a must read for historical fiction fans.
In the late 1930s, the painting was part of a private collection in Poland. Art conservationist Edith Becker, an expert with Italian Renaissance paintings, was reassigned from her museum job to assist Hilter's movement by compiling a dossier of old masters in Polish collections. Her list and assistance helped the Nazis take priceless pieces of art and objects. In the 1940s, Dominic Bonelli, an American soldier was told he had a new job to work with the Monuments Men to get art works back from the Nazis and return it to their owners.
This WWII story is different from others as it's about the valuable pieces of stolen art and objects. The author did an incredible amount of research to create this emotional story told by four narrators which flows seamlessly. It's not necessarily one to read quickly as there is a lot to digest. In the book, Leonardo da Vinci says: "Man will always make war. But it is art and beauty, I think, that will give us something to live for." Once again, the author begs us to question: when will we learn?
My thanks to Laura Morelli, HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to rad this copy.
We meet Lisa Gherardini in 1497 whose wealthy husband wanted a portrait of her, and we meet Anne Guichard in 1939 who is employed at the Louvre and trying to keep this famous painting, The Mona Lisa, out of the hands of the Nazis.
Leonardo Da Vinci is the artist who painted Lisa's portrait.
Many interesting facts about this painting that traveled far and wide to keep it safe.
All three people are tied together by this one painting even though the connection is hundreds of years apart.
Lisa's maid, Bellina Sardi, is a side part of this trio, but she has an important role of keeping her mistress safe, but is also asked to spy on and steal from the wealthy family she works for by the Medici.
Marvelous research as always and an educational trip through history as we learn about the woman behind that Mona Lisa smile, Leonardo Da Vinci, how the Mona Lisa took many trips and was hidden many times, and life during this time in history. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Laura Morelli is een LibraryThing auteur: een auteur die zijn persoonlijke bibliotheek toont op LibraryThing.
Links
Officiële startpagina (English)
Wikipedia (English)
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