From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up–A novel set around Jan Van Eyck's famous painting titled
The Arnolfini Portrait. While little is known about the painter, historians have confirmed that he did work for the court and may have had some clandestine duties associated with his position. In this story, set in mid-15th-century Bruges, Giovanna Cenami, 14, has recently lost her mother, and circumstances have forced her to assume a more mature, womanly position in her family. She attends a social soiree with her father where she sees a mysterious troubadour with an angelic voice and falls in love. Unfortunately, her father is in jeopardy of financial ruin, and he decides to move up her eventual betrothal to a wealthy, but older, family friend, Giovanni Arnolfini. Pressures from her father, secret notes passed through her maid from the stranger, and growing knowledge of the dealings of her father's business converge to throw Giovanna in a Romeo and Juliet-esque drama with a vicious twist. Rees creatively explores how these two characters in the painting could have been connected, and why they would have been painted by Van Eyck, but the story itself does not stand on its own. Giovanna's character is not explored completely, leaving readers wondering why she makes certain decisions. For students immensely interested in art and romance, this could work, but it's not a necessary purchase.
–Delia Fritz, Sunset Ridge Middle School, West Jordan, UT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Gr. 8-11. Like other titles in the Art Encounters series, this novel imagines the story behind a famous painting. Here, the inspiration is Jan van Eyck's
The Arnolfini Portrait. In fifteenth-century Bruges, 14-year-old Giovanna attends her first lavish court party, where she is given a tour by an older family friend; meets the painter van Eyck; and, most thrillingly, spies a young troubadour named Angelo. Her all-consuming crush on Angelo grows with several chance encounters, even as her father begins to arrange her marriage to secure his threatened finances. Rees tells a fascinating, gripping tale that echoes
Romeo and Juliet in its family feuds and ferociously determined young lovers. Appended sections offer background on the many historical references, and Rees' clear grasp of the complex political and social history adds rich layers to the romance and coming-of-age plotlines. Teens with a taste for costume dramas will be fascinated by Giovanna's difficult choices and uncertain loyalties, while the well-defined scenes in van Eyck's studio will interest teen artists.
Gillian EngbergCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
