16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
UNFORGETTABLE, RICHLY ATMOSPHERIC, March 23, 2010
This review is from: The Creation of Eve (Hardcover)
There is little reading more intriguing than well done historical fiction. Lynn Cullen raises this genre to new heights with her intriguing, richly visualized THE CREATION OF EVE. Based on the life of the first woman painter to achieve any degree of recognition during the Renaissance, Sofonisba Anguissola, the author transports us to the 16th century courts of Spain and France, each alive with rankling jealousies, harbored dreams, and clever machinations.
As a child of 7 Sofonisba was inspired by a picture of the Madonna and Child in a local church. Borrowing her printer father's quill and paper she drew her own picture. He was so impressed by her talent that he ignored the disdainful laughter of their Cremona neighbors, "A girl taking up a man's craft, and such a dirty one at that. Who is going to marry her now?" In time he chose some of her work and sent it to the Maestro, Michelangelo, who invited her to come to Rome to study. An impossibility for a girl in that day and time, yet it happened to Sofonisba who would become a portraitist because women were not allowed o study "from the nude or from the dissection of a cadaver."
At Michelangelo's studio she met and fell in love with a young sculptor, Tiberio Calcagni. There is a brief moment of coupling, which Sofi fears might ruin not only herself but Tiberio and bring shame to her beloved father. So, when she is invited by the mightiest of rulers, King Philip II of Spain, to teach his 13-year-old wife, Queen Elisabeth, painting and serve as her lady-in-waiting Sofi does not hesitate.
Yet, she is ill prepared for what she finds in the grand palaces of Toledo, Madrid, and Segovia - the animus of the King's sister and a fault-finding condessa who would like nothing better than to see the Queen lose favor. Elisabeth, the daughter of King Henri II of France and Catherine de Medici, is a beauty but rash, and at her then tender age unable to bear children for the King. Philip, a widower and much older than his Queen, wants her total devotion. Add to this mix Don Juan, the king's handsome younger brother, and Don Carlos, his frail, mentally deficient son, both of whom covet Elisabeth.
Thus, while strife abounds at court there are tensions without - in Rome Michelangelo is being investigated by the Inquisition of the Catholic Church for the supposed immorality of his paintings in the Sistine Chapel and his rumored homosexuality. (The Grand Inquisitor's punishments are horrific). Plus, the Protestant Reformation is feared by both Philip and Catherine of France who seeks to wed another daughter to Don Carlos in hopes of even stronger ties between their two countries.
In the midst of all of this Sofi longs for word from Tiberio, attempts to ameliorate the King's sister and the condessa, and keep an ever watchful eye on Elizabeth whom she fears may act impetuously.
With THE CREATION OF EVE Cullen has used history and prodigious research to craft an unforgettable epic, totally absorbing, richly atmospheric. She sensitively portrays the status of women at that time, realistically paints the staggering wealth enjoyed by some as opposed to the deprivation of many, while telling a fascinating story. Somehow Cullen allows us to move in the same circles as Sofi, enjoying feast days , moving among the greats of the art world - Michelangelo, DaVinci, trembling at the thought of the Inquisition, and seeing the onset of the Reformation. An unforgettable pleasure!
- Gail Cooke
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reminds me of Sarah Dunant, March 10, 2010
This review is from: The Creation of Eve (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Sofonisba Anguissola was one of the foremost female artists of the Renaissance. Born in a small town in Italy, she studied in Rome under Michelangelo, and became a lady in waiting and art teacher to Elizabeth of Valois who became Queen of Spain when she married King Filipe. While there, Sofonisba witnesses the budding relationship between Elizabeth and the King's young half brother, Don Juan.
If you're looking for a story that's solely about Sofonisba you might be a bit disappointed. She's more of a witness to what's going on around her, rather an active participant in the story. Although Sofinisba led an interesting life herself, it's Elizabeth, Felipe, and the Spanish court that take the stage here, and it's an excellent story, well told. Like another reader here, I was very surprised by, and interested in, the author's treatment of Felipe. I guess I, too, am too use to England-based novels set during this time period, which depict him as a cruel monster. Elizabeth is rather silly, naļve, and pathetic in the way that she behaves, but that doesn't stop the reader from ultimately feeling sympathetic towards her. In the end, the reader realizes that Sofi and Elizabeth are very similar; they're both trapped in positions they didn't choose to be in, unable to make their own decisions about their lives.
I also loved the heavy amount of historical details that are in this book. The author obviously did a lot of research to get her story to feel authentic, and her hard work has paid off here. Everything is described in minute detail, without those details bogging down the natural flow of the story. The author's writing style reminds me a lot of that of Sarah Dunant--both in tone and content.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating Subject, March 8, 2010
This review is from: The Creation of Eve (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Cullen introduces us to Sofonisba Anguissola, the first well known woman artist of the Renaissance. In this fictional account, we follow Sofonisba from her studies with Michelangelo to the Spanish Court where she becomes a lady-in-waiting and an art teacher.
Even though she leaves Michaelangelo after a dalliance, that may or may not have been sexual, with another student, Sofonisba doesn't learn from the consequences of that act when she moves on to the Spanish Court. Instead, she joins in the young Queen's escapades. Considering how she had suffered over her dalliance in Italy, it seems incongruous that she would jeopardize her position at the Spanish Court. Even so, she becomes famous for her portraits.
Cullen's research seems to have been thorough. Cullen seamlessly works her historical details into her fiction.
This book is a good read. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction will undoubtedly find this an enjoyable read.
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