A Portrait In Shadow

January 1, 2023

Jarvis (The Lights of Prague) jumps right into the action with this dark historical fantasy novel featuring 17th-century painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Reeling after the trial of her rapist in Rome, Artemisia begins a new life in Florence. She is determined to succeed as an artist at all costs and gain entry into the famed Accademia delle Arti della Magica, where only men have ever been members. Artemisia's magical skills allow her to imbue paintings with healing power, much in demand in a post-plague society. But instead of saving lives, she plans to use her powers to get revenge on her rapist. Can friends like Galileo convince her otherwise, before she destroys herself? VERDICT Jarvis brings the city of Florence to life, including many of its well-known residents. However, fantasy readers will wish she had spent more time building the magical aspects of her world. A good choice for fans of historical fiction authors such as Susan Vreeland and Tracy Chevalier.--Laurel Bliss

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January 30, 2023
Jarvis (The Lights of Prague) centers her belabored second fantasy on historical 17th-century artist Artemisia Gentileschi. The magical conceit is familiar but fascinating: artists enact healing magic by painting their essence into their works. Artemisia herself, however—alone in Florence after her painting tutor raped her and struggling to make her way as a “true painter”—disappoints. Rarely does Jarvis engage with the complexities of the actual Artemisia, paring away events like the painter’s marriage in an apparent attempt to make her story fit more neatly into a #MeToo framework. The resulting character study marinates in Artemisia’s fury against the men who have hurt her and despair when other men are slow to save her—among them Stefano Silvestrini, her first regular patron; Galileo Galilei, an avuncular role model; and eventually the merchant Francesco Maria Maringhi, who becomes both patron and lover—until she’s forced to choose between art and revenge. While Jarvis’s descriptive skill is undeniable, even the lush evocations of Florence come across as jarringly modern. Jarvis succeeds in finding resonance between Artemisia’s story and the modern era, but this simplified reenvisioning is like swapping a portrait for a paper doll.

March 1, 2023
In seventeenth-century Florence, artists imbue their paintings with healing powers. Wealthy patrons can pay for immunity from illnesses and other maladies including infertility, insomnia, and death from old age. Talented Artemisia Gentileschi, newly arrived in Florence from Rome, is in desperate need of a patron wealthy enough to pay for her masterpieces and their healing properties. But she has much working against her--she is a woman, young, unmarried, and living alone. However, as she steadily gains a foothold in the art world, it is not her healing paintings that call to her. Rather it is the painting she works on in the dark of night, using necromantic powers pulled from her life essence, a painting that is an act of revenge for what he did to her in Rome. Will this painting maim its target as intended or ruin Artemisia? The rich and unique setting with a dark and twisted magic will capture the attention of readers who love alternative histories and fantasy novels.

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