Author: Tracy Chevalier
Pages: 7 discs
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade: B+
Synopsis: Griet is hired as a servant in the household of the Dutch painter Vermeer when she is just 16 years old. She quickly earns her master's trust and he begins to secretly enlist her help with preparing his paints and ultimately as a model for one of his commissioned paintings. This is all done in complete secrecy as the eternally pregnant wife of Vermeer was also extremely jealous as she was not allowed into Vermeer's studio.
My Review: I've read a handful of books about artists and painters, and this is the best one yet. The story is thoroughly researched and very well told. Very little is known about Vermeer, except that he is one of the finest painters to use light and texture in his paintings (from the mid-17th century). The story is very believable and transports the reader back hundreds of years into the town of Delft.
From the Book:"I came to love grinding the things he brought from the apothecary--bones, white lead, madder, massicot--to see how bright and pure I could get the colors. I learned that the finer the materials were ground, the deeper the color. From rough, dull grains madder became a fine bright red powder and, mixed with linseed oil, a sparkling paint. Making it and the other colors was magical."
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