The Blue: A Novel by Nancy Bilyeau

The Blue: A Novel. Nancy Bilyeau. Endeavor Quill.  December 2018. $3.99; pb, 430 pp.; ISBN: 9781911445626.

Genevieve Planche is the granddaughter of French Huguenots, an artist who is reduced to painting on porcelain cups although her skills pertain to being able to paint in oils, the latter talent closed to females in 1758 England.  The author’s own familial background is connected to the Huguenot background of this artist.  She adores the work of the famous artist, William Hogarth, and Joshua Reynolds.  She lives in Spitalfields, a modest area outside of the West End of famous artists and wealthy patrons. Despite being associated in the recent past with the criminal Dennis Arsenault, Genevieve makes up a story to meet William Hogarth.  Imagine her surprise when she is accosted by two men, one her ex-lover and one, Sir Gabriel Courtenay. The latter she met at a dinner earlier and then in Hogarth’s home.  His interest in her seems awkward but determined.  Their earlier conversation was about the history of different types of porcelain, including the famous Sevres porcelain.  The contact immediately becomes dangerous! 

Two items dominate this complex, ever-changing plot.  One is the past French massacre of Genevieve’s fellow Huguenots at what is known as St. Bartholomew Massacre and the other is the exploratory search for a brand new color of blue.  The reader is at first unsure whether this is blue as we know it, a type of Prussian blue or some other shade of blue. Either way, the machinations spun by Courtenay make Genevieve realize it’s a secret that results in plenty of injured and dead people who get too close to this affair.

Thomas Sturbridge is the brilliant scientist who is said to rival the talent of Isaac Newton.  Before she meets him, she is invited, through her grandfather’s artistic influence, to paint porcelain at Derby Porcelain Works.  It is quite unclear who is a trustworthy part of this exploration into the new color being sought.  Even Thomas, with whom Genevieve falls in love, is partially secretive and purely passionate about his scientific experiments.  Genevieve is threatened, beaten at one point and imprisoned because of their love.  She is the only one who can get Thomas to continue his work and yet he seems to know something that he has not revealed to Genevieve. 

Words cannot convey the passion, talents, criminal intent and plans to make this discovery real.  The characters move between England and France, who by the way are also currently at war, at a breakneck pace.  One is never sure of who is sincere and who is a criminal.  The conclusion is mind-blowing in its surprises.  Royalty is more involved in this plot than earlier realized.  The author has obviously researched her subject with precision and depth and knows how to hold the reader’s fascination with plot and character manipulations.  More than that, the author also has a deep, passionate love for the world of porcelain and art, as well as the Huguenot people. 

This is magnificent historical fiction that’s a must read and a great gift for those who love the genres of historical fiction and mysteries! Congratulations, Nancy Bilyeau, for a book that will be read, re-read and talked about for some time to come!

Gilded Summers by Donna Russo

Gilded Summers. Donna Russo Martin. Creativia - Amazon Digital Services. Copyright June 2018. E-Book. 323 pp.; ASIN: B07BYTVSWJ.

Pearl is the daughter of wealthy parents in the world of the Astor and the Vanderbilt families.  Her father is kind, intelligent and artistically inclined.  Pearl’s first encounter with the art of Mary Cassatt changes Pearl’s vision of the future, inclining her to become an artist like the woman who has challenged the world of the Gilded Era.  Pearl’s mother is only interested in aspiring to be as well-loved, respected and inspired as the wealthy, surrounding neighbors who live in gilded castles filled with the finest paintings, architecture and furniture.  But she tries too hard and is scorned for her over-exertive efforts.  The reader is enthralled with this world but gradually grows to dislike the snooty airs and disdaining dialogue and gossip that fill the days of these women who could have done so much more with their influence.

Ginevra and her father are immigrants from Italy.  Her father has been hired by Pearl’s father to build elegant European furniture and create the best violins to play European classical music.  Ginevra is hired as a maid and eventually will rise to become Pearl’s lady’s maid.  However, Ginevra is embraced by Pearl and they gradually become best friends.  Ginevra is an extremely talented seamstress.  Together these two friends become confidants to handle the demands of their generation and social positions.  They then plan to become artists who will create their own houses of beautiful creations in art and fashion.

Both will fall in love with the same men which the reader will discover in unimaginable scenes of violence and lies.  The outcome is sheer stunning fiction!

What is most notable about this novel that glorifies and satirizes the well known Gilded Age of America focuses on the narrative voices of Pearl and Ginevra.  Their inner thoughts and external conversations are intimate and gradually revealing, including questions, dreams, visions and plans that flow seamlessly and naturally, with no sense of contrivance.  They alternate between mundane and revolutionary ideas, foreshadowing the future that will emerge to surpass the glory of the Gilded Age into an individual sense of worth and social responsibility.  They will become the foundations of new artistic perspectives.  They will literally change the world and the way persons perceive wealth, poverty, art and design!  They will become glorious rather than gilded!

This is remarkable historical fiction that this reviewer highly recommends.  Donna Russo Martin’s writing has evolved into something more meaningful, serious but joyfully engaging, and memorable in a creative, new style sure to endear readers of all ages!  Wonder-full!

What Are You Looking At? by Will Gompertz

What Are You Looking At? The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art. Will Gompertz. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated. October 2012. 432 pp. hardcover. ISBN #: 9780525952671.

Here is a comprehensive, readable book for those ranging from art lovers who those looking at modern art and thinking, "I don't have a clue to what this is!"  

Beginning with a short overview of how art as investment increases for both living and dead artists, the author begins with the story of how Marcel Duchamp rocked the art world with his "Fountain," a urinal turned upside down with some drilled holes.  The point?  What do you see?  The artist would say to keep looking and then the layers of meaning may unfold for the viewer - or - perhaps it's just a urinal which elicits a variety of responses from the viewer.  Is Gustave Courbet's "The Origin of the World" pornography or much more than its surface physicality? These flagrantly different  conceptions are comic yet also a window into the world of contemplation and artistic creation that spans 150 years, that which is called "modern art."

The text then covers multiple schools of art, beginning with pre-Impressionism and Impressionism which is much more than many viewers perceive of as "just dots" and really convey the first time artists wanted to paint outdoors, carefully watching how light and shade created beauty in nature's everyday scenes.  It also describes how the artists of this period risked so much and even started their own schools to rival the prevailing "Academy" system, speaking for the passion of creativity that they felt deserved a larger, appreciative audience.

So this story continues with coverage of Cezanne, Primitivism, Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Suprematism, Constructivism, Neo-Plasticism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Conceptualism, Minimalism, Post-Modernism, and Art Now.  Making art three-dimensional on a flat surface, variations of color expressing how one views reality with more vivid colors creating emotional appeal, art with two simple colors that viewed long enough brought the viewer's unconscious into the perception, and so much more.

What Are You Looking At?... is a fascinating, intelligently written, very readable look into similarities, differences, and new concepts in the modern artistic world quite frequently seen at the Museum of Modern Art as well as other museums and galleries throughout the world.  It's a must read for every person who wants to understand and appreciate great art!  Superb and highly recommended!!!

Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell

Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet. Stephanie Cowell. Crown Publishing Group (pb). April 2011. 352 pp. ISBN #: 9780307463210.

Claude Monet, an early 19th Century artist, refuses to take over his father's business and suffers from his passionate compulsion to become a renowned artist. Initially a mentor indicates to him that he lacks discipline, a fact to which he responds with openness. Forced to earn money because his family will not support him and lacking a patron, Monet moves to Paris where he forms a strong bond with other emerging artists such as Renoir, Cezanne, Pissarro, and Manet. Each artist's work is characterized by unique qualities such as Renoir's portrauts, but Monet is riveted by a desire to accurately depict the different variations of light and shadow he observes in city and suburban landscapes. He and his friends live, dine, and work together, inspiring and arguing with each other about the new forms of art they are trying to create and which they hope the public will acclaim.

It is only when Claude meets Camille that his painting begins to manifest the passion, mystery, and beauty she represents to him. Yet he is slow to realize that Camille has dreams and secrets of her own, although little by little she claims that he is all she desires. As they begin to live together and have children, Camille sacrifices her dreams of becoming a famous author, singer, and actress so that Claude will be free to immerse himself deeper in his art. Living in destitute conditions, they struggle to maintain that dignity and hope that for too long seems elusive. Misunderstandings with colleagues and secrets about clandestine relationships threaten to destroy what they have, beginning with the Great War which drives their colleagues to different parts of Europe for different reasons.

Finally, the public begins to accept the "Impressionists," as these artists label their group. It's a bittersweet victory as the years of loneliness and struggle take their toll on all, yet the deep love between Claude and Camille survives the vicissitudes of their own weakness and world affairs, revealing a momentous love story that remains for sure the greatest force behind Claude's creations.

If you're looking for a story that goes beyond the proverbial "struggling artist" stereotype, this is a superb novel. Claude and Camille evokes the powers of observation and emotional sensitivity vital to the creation of magnificent art. Stephanie Cowell is a master at slowly revealing the essence of central characters, depicting artistic pieces in a way that mekes one want to run to see the actual works and presenting the day-to-day ups and downs of endearing yet stormy relationships that totally engage readers. This novel is one more example of this author's immersion in great art and music that so easily emerges as a literate love story of a renowned artist and his muse. Wonderful!!!