- Hardcover: 432 pages
- Publisher: Seascape Press Ltd. (November 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0966974166
- ISBN-13: 978-0966974164
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 816 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,289,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In this name-dropping bodice-ripper for art enthusiasts and Italophiles, na ve yet talented Italian peasant Gianpaolo Bondone rises to fame and fortune in the Paris art world. Returning to his childhood home near Florence at the end of his service in WWII, Gino envisions a return to his simple life of farming and leatherworking at the local monastery. Instead, he finds his fascist father murdered by partisans and his sister deflowered by Pietro Scegli, a member of the Black Shirts. Tortured by dreams of the war, Gino seeks help from the prior of the local monastery, who arranges for Gino's apprenticeship with a master artist in Florence. Love affairs there and in Paris ensue. Gino's painting waxes and wanes with each new twist in his life. With the help of such luminaries as Chagall and Picasso, Gino learns what it takes to be a true artist. Lamensdorf (author of The Crouching Dragon, a young adult novel) writes a rollicking, if shallow, travelogue and art history saga. A voluptuous, romance-novel-style jacket and equally lusty blurbs from, among others, Fran Halpern of NPR may alert readers to a lighthearted airplane read.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Italian painter Gino Bondone ends up in postwar Paris in the company of Pietro Scegli, a fascist friend of his father's with motives of his own. Utilizing his chameleonlike abilities, Pietro secures a job to support himself and Gino, but he scoffs at Gino's talent and is amazed when Gino convinces Pierre Petit, a famous artist and fellow Italian, to mentor him. Pietro both helps and competes with Gino, a one-sided rivalry exacerbated by the Countess Ariane, who becomes smitten with Gino even though Pietro has fallen in love with her. Through the countess's connections, Gino meets the great masters of the art world, including Chagall, who takes an interest in him and explains that art must always come first, love second. Gino realizes that, indeed, he must be true to his work if he's going to live up to his dream of artistic success. Lamensdorf presents a glowing tribute to the world of art through the life of a talented and charming painter who personifies a zest for life. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding novel of peace & war, love & hate, art & artists,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gino, the Countess and Chagall (Hardcover)
Gino, The Countess & Chagall is a deeply engaging novel set in post-World War II Italy and France. A world of art and artists where Gino, a former soldier, becomes a lowly assistant to a master artist who is restoring one of Italy's great frescoes. Gino then moves on to Paris where he struggles for artistic recognition and support in his own right. A scheming half-brother, a vulnerable sister, a series of art masters, beautiful women comprise a memorable cast of characters in this outstanding novel of war and peace, love and hate, art and artists.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding novel of peace & war, love & hate, art & artists,
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Gino, the Countess and Chagall (Hardcover)
Gino, The Countess & Chagall is a deeply engaging novel set in post-World War II Italy and France. A world of art and artists where Gino, a former soldier, becomes a lowly assistant to a master artist who is restoring one of Italy's great frescoes. Gino then moves on to Paris where he struggles for artistic recognition and support in his own right. A scheming half-brother, a vulnerable sister, a series of art masters, beautiful women comprise a memorable cast of characters in this outstanding novel of war and peace, love and hate, art and artists.
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