Customer Reviews

The Painter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Did Rembrandt Van Rijn, while running from creditors, hide aboard a ship bound for Hull, England? Did Captain Dahl,in exchange for his passage, comission Rembrandt to paint a portrait of his wife, Amelia? Did Rembrandt and the poet Andrew Marvell engage in a contest to win the fair Amelia? Did Amy Dale discover her ancestor Amelia's long hidden journal that tells the tale of the portrait and Rembrandt's year in Hull? Did Amy set out to find the portrait with the help of an enigmatic, scarred loner who is not what he seems? If you like a weaving of past and present, history and fiction, love and suspense, this is the book for you. Enjoy!

In 1662, bankrupt fifty-six year old painter Rembrandt van Rijn flees his creditors though it means leaving his home. He accidentally stows away on a ship bound for Hull, England, but is caught by the angry captain. Through passenger Andrew Marvell, who speaks Dutch, Captain Dahl commissions the artist to paint portraits to pay for his passage as van Rijn proclaims he is bankrupt

Rembrandt hates painting the captain, but looks forward to working on the man's wife, the beautiful Amelia. However, Marvell challenges Rembrandt to a duel of tributes in which he will use the might of the pen with a poem dedicated to the lovely Amelia while Rembrandt will use the might of the brush with a portrait of the gorgeous woman. Amelia will declare the winner.

When THE PAINTER concentrates on an insightful historical novel, the story line is brilliantly conceived and does justice to the artist even when the clever Amelia manipulates the two artists to do her bidding. When the story line switches plot to 2001 focusing on an artist descendant of Dahl, it seems more like a paint by numbers that never quite holds up in comparison. In spite of the average twenty first-century subplot taking up half the book, the seventeenth century story makes Will Davenport's novel a winner.

Harriet Klausner

In the tradition of Possession by A.S. Byatt, and Vreeland's Girl in Hyacinth Blue - this novel travels from the present to the past and back again as a young artist and an old one both search for their souls.

Compelling, lovely novel. Davenport gets deep into the heart of a painter, understanding what moves an artist and how an artist sees.

Excellent book.

Davenport manages to seamlessly spin two stories, past and present, into wonderful whole cloth containint elements of love, betrayal, suspense, mystery, art history and murder.

In the present we are introduced to artist Amy Dale, who is hired to participate in the restoration of a 17th century manor house that once belonged to a distant relative. Her task is complicated by two factors. One, the discovery of a 300 year old journal written by her ancestor Amelia Dahl that throws new light on the history of the manor. Secondly, she becomes the focus of an antagonistic competition between Dennis, an amiable older man and Don, the scarred and brooding laborer to whom Amy finds herself emotionally and sexually attracted.

The past presents a richly imaginative tale that concentrates on the missing year in the life of one of history's most unique, creative and talented artists, Rembrandt Van Rijn.....and his obsession with Amelia Dahl.

The two stories are mirror images and Davenport's writing erupts from the page and draws you into both stories.

Ironically, I did not make the finalists in the Inspired by Rembrandt competition, run by Radio Netherlands, last year. My daughter encouraged me to buy the book. Between reading the book (finished it ten minutes ago), I painted another picture. So, I was an artist, reading about an artist who was discovering things about an artist who lived 400 years ago, and, who like me, was born in the Netherlands. Unlike me, he was famous! The book combines many things I like very much. Call it getting in touch with my feminine-side. The romance. The English setting. The struggle with paint to represent something you want the world to like and having a look into Rembrandt's life, whether it's fact or fiction. I now want to buy 'Het Blauw van Rembrandt' by Jorg Kastner, because I'm hooked (and I did not want the book to end).
(Lucky I can still read Dutch.)

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT. I picked this book up in a used book store. It took me a while to pick it up, but when I did, I really enjoyed it. I learned quite a bit about Rembrandt that I didn't know and the novel left me wanting to learn more. I didn't mind going back and forth between the present and the past. I found that it coalesced well. While I enjoyed the whole book, I didn't quite care for what happened with Don and the discovery that was made about him. There was an undercurrent of danger about him, but trying to throw Amy in front of the saw in the end, seemed too crazy for me. How did he think he was going to get away with that? I don't like the fact that he was so psycho. Having said that, I did really like the book and am glad I read it. Davenport did great research, got the facts right and made this novel one worth reading.

Love historical fiction; read it voraciously. So I guess it's no surprise that it was the scenes in the 'present day' that bored me. The whole premise of understanding some of the genius behind Rembrandt was interesting, but would have rather spent the length the book in his era.

Two artists, two parallel stories, two love affairs. Amy Dale lives in modern England. A restoration job lands in her lap and takes her to Hull, to the 17th century mansion that may have belonged to her ancestors. Here she makes some intriguing discoveries, while falling hard for a moody coworker with disfiguring scars. Four hundred years earlier, Rembrandt van Rijn unexpectedly spent some time in the same mansion, where he was pressed into painting a portrait of the lady of the house, with whom he falls deeply in love.

Told from the vantage points of the two protagonists, The Painter spins out a tale full of intrigue and history. It's a fascinating story, filled with secrets and mysteries, and based upon the question surrounding Rembrandt's "missing" year. Author Davenport does an admirable job of working fact into his fiction, and maintains credibility until the final chapter, where Amy has an abruptly nonchalant, "oh well" moment that fails to jibe with the intense emotionality that carried her through the book. Nevertheless, this tale of one city in two times is fun and engrossing.

What a great, fascinating read. I couldn't put it down. A great mixture of historical fiction and a modern story with the same setting, a famous historical artist, and several mysteries. Very inventive and imaginative. Highly recommended.

This two-tiered novel follows Rembrandt on an accidental (though historically hinted-at) journey to England juxtaposed with a modern descendent of his hosts. The 16th Century story is the more interesting and is well augmented with details of the time. The 20th Century story is well plotted although it is difficult to summon much sympathy for the rootless heroine. Both interweave not only the building (or restoration) of an old manor on Hull but the indecisiveness that comes when a person is outside his/her own element.