The Passion of Artemisia

One of our book club members was a personal friend of Susan Vreeland, and it was he who brought this author to the attention of our club. Many of us found we enjoyed Vreeland's approach to historical fiction, using extensive research, and focusing on stories of people from the world of art.

The Passion of Artemisia is the story of Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the few female painters of the post-Renaissance world to become well-known in her own time. The story begins with the scandalous public trial of a man Artemisia's father accused of raping his daughter, and continues through Artemisia's unconventional life.

The story's strength is the details of daily life, the details of Italian cities, the details of art that Vreeland shares in the story.

A couple of my favorite quotes from the story:

“We've been lucky,” I (Artemisia) said (to her father, also an artist). “We've been able to live by what we love. And to live painting, as we have, wherever we have, is to live passion and imagination and connection and adoration, all the best in life—to be more alive than the rest.”

“We prepare ourselves for death by treasuring such moments when we feel that even the least of us has been necessary for the full expression of God.”