The Last Painting of Sara de Vos: A Novel

I confess I found the cover so unappealing that I was prepared to hate the book. I did not hate the book; I loved the book.The writing is beautiful and descriptive in a way that lets you feel the biting cold of skating in a Dutch winter or the heat and humidity in a cheap Brooklyn apartment. Perhaps because the book is about painters and paintings, the author has worked especially hard on giving his words a painterly character. I felt a part of the story, whether in the Netherlands in the 1600s, in New York in the 1950s, or in Sydney, Australia, at the turn of the millennium.I loved the characters, both those who gradually proved themselves unattractive or those who initially appeared unpleasant but who grew on me. I loved learning about the art worlds 350 years apart, the details of painting, the smells of paints and the work of how those paints were made. I especially loved the dual stories, the way the characters were fleshed out.A beautiful work of historical fiction that includes some recent history as well.

But for the fact that I wasn't really convinced by one of the three main characters, this could have been a 5★ read for me. I'm going to call it 4.5★.In the early 1600s, Dutch painter Sara de Vos was a woman ahead of her time. She was the first woman admitted to her guild, and one of the few women to veer away from the accepted (and acceptable) path of still life painting. Her landscape, At the Edge of a Wood, sets her apart as one of the most exciting and enigmatic (it is her only attributed work) female painters of the Golden Age.In 1950s New York, Australian grad student Ellie Shipley has changed her focus from art conservation to art history and an expected career in academia. She is completely intrigued by Sara de Vos, so when the opportunity arises to 'make a copy' of At the Edge of a Wood, Ellie can't resist.Fast forward to the year 2000, in Sydney, just before the Olympics. Eleanor Shipley is curating a new exhibition on seventeenth-century Dutch women painters for the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She is sickened by the realisation that two paintings called At the Edge of a Wood are on their way to Sydney, to be included in the exhibition.Dominic Smith follows these 3 timelines to tell the story of Sara de Vos, Ellie Shipley and Marty de Groot, the man who links them together. It's a mystery, it's a masterclass in 17th century Dutch art, it's a sneak peek into the world of art forgery and it's also a kind of romance (although I didn't think this aspect was as successful). The writing is wonderful, the pace is perfect, and the story is really quite unique. Highly recommended."Every work is a depiction and a lie. We rearrange the living, exaggerate the light, intimate dusk when it’s really noonday sun."

This multi-layered novel is told from different vantage points and different periods of time. Though a difficult feat to accomplish, Dominic Smith does an excellent job of creating smooth transitions between characters and epochs. This complex historical fiction is a major literary coup for the author and a must read for any art lover.Sara De Vos is a fictional artist who is brought to life in these pages. She paints still lives and landscapes in Amsterdam during the 17th century. She is the first woman admitted to the painting guild, sharing this honor with Rembrandt. She is married to Barent, also a painter, but he incurs debt and he ends up leaving her to save face. They had a child named Kathryn who died of the plague. Interestingly, what is thought of as Sara's last painting, hangs in the home of Marty de Groot, passed on to him from prior generations of his family.Moving forward to New York City in 1957, Marty finds that his Sara De Vos painting is missing and a forgery has been hung in its place. Ellie Shipley, a painter and art historian living in Brooklyn, is earning money by copying masterpieces. One of the paintings she has been asked to copy is De Vos's 'At the Edge of a Wood', the same painting that has been stolen from Marty. Marty and Ellie become involved and the outcome of this will echo through time.It is now 2000 and Ellie Shipley is an art historian and curator. Ellie is curating a show of female painters of the Dutch Golden Age that is about to be hung at the university where Ellie teaches. She is aware that there are two copies of 'At the Edge of the Wind', both the original and the one she forged. She is waiting to be found out and have her life come tumbling down around her.This is a marvelous novel, one I savored and treasure. It has everything I love in literature - great characterization, intrigue, complexity, and excellent writing. I have ordered all of this author's previous works. I don't know how I missed out on reading him until now.

The storyline drew me in while teaching me a ton about painting techniques in the 1600’s.

I enjoyed this book so I bought it as a present for an artist friend! I often find a book that jumps from one period to another and one location to another a trifle trying but on this occasion it all seemed to gel.

et construit couche par couche comme une toile de maître. En lisant j'étais dans mon élément car j'aime beaucoup des romans mélangeant passé et présent et en plus dans une atmosphère douce-amère. L'auteur, avec beaucoup de subtilité, fait vivre ses personnages dans des décors "exotiques" -- la Hollande de l'Age d'Or, New York dans les années 1950 et l'Australie de l'an 2000. J'ai rarement lu un roman où je "voyais" si distinctement les héros et ressentais si intimement leurs réactions.Les thèmes: la valeur eternelle de l'Art, bien sûr, mais des questions morales aussi, la culpabilité, le pardon, la rédemption.

I went into this with zero expectations, and I liked it a heck of a lot.I know it's been out a while to great applause, but personally, I bought the book because it was a Kindle Monthly Deal going at a saving, and I bought it without reading the blurb. I assumed it was about art, but had no idea of the plot involving the forgery.I loved the mixed timelines - and enjoyed all the characters involved.I particularly loved the Sara de Vos timeline - how bleak that would have been for her during those years.

Enjoyed the story line.