Tag: art history

What’s Ashley Reading?: The Magnolia Palace

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

First line: Lillian Carter stood half naked, one are held up like a ballet dancer, the other hanging lightly down at her side, and calculated how long she could avoid paying rent while her landlord was in jail.

Summary: In 1919, Lillian Carter, is an artist model who is famously known as Angelica. She has posed for sculptures all over New York City but when she gets entangled in the death of her landlord’s wife she goes on the run. In a case of mistaken identity she is hired as the private secretary to the daughter of one of the richest men in the country. In the hopes of lying low and earning some money to escape to Los Angeles she sees that life in the home of the rich is not as glamorous as it may seem.

In 1966, Veronica Weber, is an English model who arrives at the Frick Museum for a photo shoot, only to be locked inside during a blackout snowstorm. While waiting out the storm, she and an archivist follow the clues to a mysterious treasure hunt only to find something that has been missing for nearly five decades.

My Thoughts: Fiona Davis does not disappoint. She writes some wonderful novels that incorporate history, art and sometimes a little bit of a mystery. This was no different. I had never heard of Angelica. In the book she uses a different name than the real life Angelica but many of the statues mentioned in the book are real. Of course I had to look up pictures of them and the Frick Museum. I have heard of the museum but knew nothing about the family. It was interesting to get a little background to it and its famous works of art. I would love to visit and see the masterpieces that line the walls.

I wonder if Miss Helen was as stubborn as she is made out to be. She is definitely not a likeable character. But she was also a product of her time. A wealthy woman who lived in the shadow of her family. At the end in the author’s notes she gave several books to read for more information. I will be adding them to my ever growing list.

The story was well written and enjoyable just as her other books have been. Highly recommended for lovers of art and history.

What’s Ashley Reading?: The King’s Painter

The King’s Painter by Franny Moyle

First line: When Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, more than two hundred years after Holbein’s death, he understood a biographer to be ‘A writer of lives; a relator not of the history of nations, but of the actions of particular persons.’

Summary: Hans Holbein was the court painter to Henry VIII of England.  But even though he achieved stardom at the English court he started as the son of painter in Augsburg, Germany.  He learned his trade from his father and worked his way up the social ladder with introductions for well-known clients until he reached the height of his career.  Using his talent, he brought the world the best known portraits of the Tudor court including the king himself, his courtiers and several of his wives. 

My Thoughts: I have loved Holbein’s work ever since I became interested in the Tudor period.  His art is beyond his time.  He brings life to his subjects making them almost appear in 3D.  Many of his works survive and there are probably some still to be discovered.  The few that I have seen are outstanding in their detail.

I really enjoyed this look into Holbein’s life.  Before reading this I basically knew his name and his works.  I learned a lot about the time period in which he lived, his rise through friendships with Erasmus and Thomas More, and the lives of painters in the sixteenth century.  I always assumed that someone who worked for the court was well off but many painters struggled to make enough for their families.  There are many rules surrounding the painters’ world including inclusions in guilds and requirements of marriage.  I found this to be a great insight into another world inside the one I already knew from my years of reading Tudor history.

Moyle’s biography can be fairly dense with information but I found it easy to read.  She follows a linear storytelling while she explains the culture and religious tensions of the time and how they affected the young painter. 

The book includes color prints of some of his father’s works (Hans Holbein the Elder), early religious works (Hans Holbein the younger), and his portraits from the royal courts. 

FYI: For fans of art history or the Tudor period.