Elizabeth Hickey (1)

I have discovered a new passion in my quest for reading great historical fiction. It started with Clara and Mr. Tiffany which is about the art of stained glass creations, and then to the non-fiction book The Lost Painting about Caravaggio, to this fictional story about the Viennese 19 Century artist Gustav Klimt and his lifelong inspiration and one of his favourite models, Emilie Floge. The story is told in the first person by Emilie which is why this book is so real and riveting.. Ms. Hickey does a marvellous job of creating a world and its people that is so alive and so realistic that it just seemed that I was right there with Gustav, Emilie and her sisters, as well as other famous artists and people from late 19 century Vienna. What a marvellous city Vienna was then!. It was full of great artists, composers, writers, opera singers and designers, but what made it all so bittersweet was that history as shown us what happened to Vienna during the two world wars it suffered through. That sparkling, magical world was lost forever. Being able to experience Vienna in its heyday was thrilling and spell-binding for me. We see the growth and development of a great artist, and the effect that his talent has on everyone around him, and how it depicts society and the people of his generation. Artists and composers were the rockstars of this time, and some handled their fame and fortune with aplomb, while others ended up being victims of it. I am so enthralled with getting this glimpse into this world of great art and artists that I have already created a reading list of books that I absolutely must read. I want to read books about Van Gogh, Monet, Singer, Bruegel and many others. I loved everything about this book, but the best part was the character of Emilie. I wish I could have known her.… (mais)

In this passionate and atmospheric debut novel, Elizabeth Hickey reimagines the tumultous relationahip between the Viennese painter Gustav Klimt and Emilie Floge, the woman who posed for Klimt's masterpiece The Kiss - and whose name he uttered with is dying breath. Vienna in 1886 was a city of elegant cafés, grand opera houses, and a thriving and adventurous artistic community. It is here where the twelve-year-old Emilie meets the controversial libertine and painter. Hired by her bourgeois father for basic drawing lessons, Klimt introduces Emilie to a subculture of dissolute artists, wanton models, and decadent patrons that both terrifies and inspires her. The Painted Kiss follows Emilie as she blossoms from a naïve young girl to one of Europe's most exclusive couturiers—and Klimt's most beloved model and mistress. A provocative love story that brings to life Vienna's cultural milieu, The Painted Kiss is as compelling as a work by Klimt himself.… (mais)

(Fiction, Historical, Art)

From Amazon: “Gustav Klimt, one of the great painters of fin de siècle Austria—and the subject of Helen Mirren’s latest film, Woman in Gold—takes center stage in this passionate and atmospheric debut novel, which reimagines the tumultuous relationship between the Viennese painter and Emilie Flöge, the woman who posed for his masterpiece The Kiss, and whose name he uttered with his dying breath.”

This should have been a knock-out but I found it rather bland.

3½ stars… (mais)