I Always Loved You: A Novel

As a amateur painter who loves French art this was a wonderful read. Woven into a compelling story is the style and influence of the impressionists and their struggles to achieve their goals. Well researched. Well written.

Appears that the author filled in with her imagination much of the story and to me that made me skeptical and lessened my enjoyment of the story.

I enjoyed being immersed in the art world in this novel based on the Impressionist movement. True to historical fact, it presents the leading artists and their amazing lives with such clarity I found it hard to put it down. I learned more about art and artists’ emotions and challenges than any art history class I have every taken.

My experience with Robin Oliveira’s latest novel, I Always Loved You, is one of complete enjoyment. She has masterfully depicted a grand period of 19th century Paris and imbued it with her acute observation and imagination. The book is rich in detail, obviously well researched. The novel is made even richer with the use of art links on her website, [...], that show the actual paintings referenced in each chapter. I was able to savor the beautiful art of the impressionist painters at the same time that I was reading about their lives. Robin so aptly puts into words the struggles and self doubts, the moments of clarity, the passion, and the creative process that any artist of any medium can relate to. Chapters 39 and 40 allow us to peek into the inner worlds of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas, enter into their tempestuous relationship, and hear the ruminations that keep them each awake at night as they each struggle with their creative process.Robin’s superb insight into the human spirit, and the skill with which she renders it, is captured in a particularly poignant moment of grace between Mary and her father and is thus described: “…Mary rounded the table and tangled her arms about his neck. He smelled of soap and happiness, the scents of her young childhood, before they knew how to make one another miserable, before she understood that filial desire could sabotage paternal love.” In this one short passage, she manages to capture a grand moment between father and child. Robin paints a picture with her words as beautifully as Mary Cassatt or Edgar Degas painted on their canvases. I Always Loved You will captivate and take you on a tremendous journey.

I grew up with Mary Cassatt's great niece as my "extra" grandmother. I learned about each one of her paintings, one by one, hearing the back story on each painting, on the people in the painting. I knew about Mary's great and important friendship with Degas. Were they lovers? This book says yes, her family believed no. I recognize that this is a novel, and it is nicely done, weaving fact with fiction, but at the end of the day, it is important to remember that it is a work of fiction. I enjoyed it. It would have been more fun had she had permission to include reproductions of each painting as she talked about them -- I went to my books as I read. Worth the read.

This fictional novel presents the complicated relationship between beloved painters Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas. The author gives a fine portrait of their entwining personalities and the painting scene in Belle Epoque Paris, specifically the years from 1877 to 1883. The story is well researched and presents a vivid picture of Cassatt and Degas as well as other famous painters of the time striving to create exciting new ways of presenting images on canvas using color and mood. We see into their circles of contemporaries, including Manet, Pissaro, Monet, Morisot, Cezanne, Renoir, Caillebotte and writers Maupaussant and Zola.Of course this era presented less opportunities for women to express themselves in salons, not least in painting circles, and Mary had to push herself to speak up, but when she did it was with determination that her ideas be recognized. This won her respect from some, but not all, including Degas who was of two minds and loved to banter. Outwardly he never doubted his vision and painted with seeming abandon. But when they each retruned to their studios, they worked and reworked ideas, leaving little time to resolve their differences. Over some years, however, they were able to open themselves to one another's criticisims, positive and negative, and share ideas without too much rancor. This is an unusual love story, beautifully told.

I Always Loved You takes the reader back to the late 19th century when Impressionism was the up and coming art in Paris. The book focuses on the complicated relationship between Mary Cassat and Edgar Degas; their art, their struggles, and their desires. Many other Impresssionist painters are part of the book including, Monet, Renoir, Manet, and several others. All of them leading complicated intertwined lives as they struggle, compete, and often suffer to perfect their work and gain acceptance in the art world. While reading I Always Loved You, I felt as if I was walking the streets of Paris with the artists getting to understand each one individually and their incredible passions for their art and sometimes each other. The author offers interesting background to the story behind many of many paintings that we love today as well as reasons for light, color, and depth as chosen by the artist giving an amazing insight to who these people were. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction, art, or Paris. It is beautifully written and takes you to a time when Paris was in transition artistically and architecturally.

If your background is art or art history, you will revel in this book. With serious research, Oliveira fleshes out and builds on the history of the time during which the impressionists began their painting. The backdrop is Paris and the Academie that decrees which paintings are acceptable, and which to scorn. Mary Cassatt, an American studying art in Paris,has had one painting accepted but the favour of the academie has turned against her and she is frustrated. Into her life appears Edgar Degas all ready a master of technique although even his work is not judged appropriate for the salon.The relationship between Mary and Edgar is the subject of the story. However, their pursuit, passion and love of art is very much interwoven into the tempestuous entanglement of these two. Painters Manet, Morisot, Cailleboitte,Renoir and writers Zola and Mallarme all play important roles. The themes of love and art predominate. Even though I had studied art history years ago, I was unaware of many details ( such as Manet's decline from syphilis - although I shouldn't have been surprised). These gossipy details although not germane to the development of the work of the impressionists do deepen understanding of the people now considered icons in the quest for changing how people think about art. This emotional co text definitely adds to the context of the times.

This book gives a sense of the lives of these great artists when they were struggling and unrecognized by the establishment in the art community. It also opened a window on the conception and execution of great works (Degas ballerina statue). Also the development of female artists in those times is educational. The writing did not get in the way of the story, which is always a good thing.