A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Painting Novels

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I, Mona Lisa / by Jeanne Kalogridis
In this empassioned novel of Renaissance Italy, author Kalogridis examines the woman behind that mysterious smile depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—Lisa di Antonio Gherardini. Her life and the eventful, often bloody, circumstances surrounding the commission and painting of her portrait are vividly described in this fascinating book.
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Girl with a Pearl Earring / by Tracy Chevalier
A young girl becomes the friend and muse to renowned 17th century Dutch Painter Johannes Vermeer after she’s hired on as a servant at his Amsterdam home. Chevalier’s fictional story behind the famous painting is as charming as the portrait itself.
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In the Company of the of the Courtesan / by Sarah Dunant
Amid the sacking of Rome in 1527, a young Courtesan, Fiametta Bianchini, escapes the city and heads to Venice in the company of her escort Bucino Teodoldo, a dwarf. This story and its heroine were inspired by Titian’s “Venus of Urbino”, which is featured on the cover.
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Luncheon at the Boating Party / by Susan Vreeland
In her latest fictional rendition chronicling the events surrounding a famous painting, Vreeland tracks artist August Renoir as he labors under the Paris sun on his impressionist masterpiece, “Luncheon of the Boating Party”. Accompanying the often unpleasant heat is the stress of trying to get just the right people in just the right light, not to mention the unwanted attention of critical onlookers and a host of other distractions.