Secret Page: The Art of Con Heir
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Thanks for reading Con Heir!
In writing Con Heir, I was thrilled to indulge in some art history and I want to share my research with you with the pieces that inspired The Pandora, and the artworks mentioned throughout the novel. Adding the history of each piece in the novel would be arduous, and not terribly exciting in the context of pacing a mystery, so I'm glad to bring the artwork alive here. |
Inspiring The Pandora
...she had her first ever unfettered view of the magnificent painting in its baroque gilt frame. Pandora was dressed in gossamer fine robes, her cheeks flushed pink, dark brown hair flowing in luxurious waves around her shoulders to her elbows, flowers woven into the strands. Her creamy white hands held the box, its lid barely askew, and a scroll falling to her side, the letters a little too small and far away for Cass to make out. The figure’s gaze was directed upon the box. Around her was natural beauty, all the good of the world represented in the mature trees, the abundant flora and the gamboling animals. Peaceful, unaware of what could be unleashed once the box was open.
It was breathtaking in its beauty, so unlike the other chaotic, burdensome, depictions of Pandora’s Box.
No wonder its ownership had been the subject of so much controversy. Who wouldn’t want to own this? (Excerpt, Chapter Seven.)
Pandora's Box, with its mythical themes of evil and humanity, has been subject to a myriad of artworks. For Con Heir, I wanted my fictional artist "John Carmichael" to have his own painting. This was so I could introduce some history that tied the antagonists to the artwork and, in part, so I could add the scroll with its riddle. Pandora's curiosity could be intended as a message from Carmichael to Lady Georgette, whom Antoinette Quinlan suggests he was secretly in love with.
Inspiration for the fictional "Pandora's Box" came from Charles Edward Perugini's "Pandora's Box (1893), a lovely oil depicting a pretty young woman opening the box. It's owned by a private collector but the location is currently unknown. Intriguing!
Source: Wikipedia Commons
It was breathtaking in its beauty, so unlike the other chaotic, burdensome, depictions of Pandora’s Box.
No wonder its ownership had been the subject of so much controversy. Who wouldn’t want to own this? (Excerpt, Chapter Seven.)
Pandora's Box, with its mythical themes of evil and humanity, has been subject to a myriad of artworks. For Con Heir, I wanted my fictional artist "John Carmichael" to have his own painting. This was so I could introduce some history that tied the antagonists to the artwork and, in part, so I could add the scroll with its riddle. Pandora's curiosity could be intended as a message from Carmichael to Lady Georgette, whom Antoinette Quinlan suggests he was secretly in love with.
Inspiration for the fictional "Pandora's Box" came from Charles Edward Perugini's "Pandora's Box (1893), a lovely oil depicting a pretty young woman opening the box. It's owned by a private collector but the location is currently unknown. Intriguing!
Source: Wikipedia Commons
Art mentioned in Con Heir
The small painting hadn’t been priceless. It wasn’t a Rembrandt or a Monet or a Van Gogh. If it had been one of the Masters, it would have dominated the headlines for several more days before being lost to Wikipedia legend and forgotten by everyone else. It had been beautiful though, the work of an American artist growing in popularity since his death in the previous century. A lovely watercolor of a lakeside, the water a delicate contrast to the fall shades of the trees crowding the far shore. (Excerpt, Chapter Two.)
This is also a fictional piece of art, from my fictional Vancouver Gallery of Modern Art. Sometimes it makes sense to use real art in real museums and galleries, but for the novel, my imagination worked well here. I asked AI to use the last sentence as a prompt and it came up with this - not bad! Also, how crazy is it that "the previous century" is living memory for many of us?!
This is also a fictional piece of art, from my fictional Vancouver Gallery of Modern Art. Sometimes it makes sense to use real art in real museums and galleries, but for the novel, my imagination worked well here. I asked AI to use the last sentence as a prompt and it came up with this - not bad! Also, how crazy is it that "the previous century" is living memory for many of us?!
Old Masters and "Old Mistresses"
She took her time following the signs, browsing the other rooms on the way, enjoying the Van Goghs, the Cezannes, the Degas, and Manets, and so many more of the Old Masters. As always, she wondered where the Old Mistresses were, if that weren’t a troubling name for the artistic grand dames lost to history, either prevented from painting at all, or their works disregarded and lost in time. (Excerpt, Chapter Seven.)
My fictional Musée de Trésor in Paris houses these artworks, alongside many unnamed Old Masters, along with a temporary exhibit of the fictional The Pandora. Of course, I could include umpteen Old Masters paintings, but it's the second line that I really focus on. It's such a shame so much talent has been lost to the world because so few women were allowed or encouraged to paint in previous centuries, and even when they did, much of their art, and names, are lost to time. Marguerite Gérard came to mind here, for her glorious art and indisputable mastery - here is L'Elève intéressante with a painting within a painting - but also because (not to distract from a female Old Master, of course...) she was the student and sister-in-law of Jean-Honoré Fragonard, the painter of The Swing, a favorite piece of mine. (I have the fridge magnet - much more affordable!) Fragonard is the artist of the painting within the painting. Incidentally, you might recognize The Swing as it's been used as inspiration in several Disney films, most notably a scene with Princess Anna in Frozen!
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun is another artist I had in mind while writing this scene. More of her below...
Source: Sotheby's | Louvre
She took her time following the signs, browsing the other rooms on the way, enjoying the Van Goghs, the Cezannes, the Degas, and Manets, and so many more of the Old Masters. As always, she wondered where the Old Mistresses were, if that weren’t a troubling name for the artistic grand dames lost to history, either prevented from painting at all, or their works disregarded and lost in time. (Excerpt, Chapter Seven.)
My fictional Musée de Trésor in Paris houses these artworks, alongside many unnamed Old Masters, along with a temporary exhibit of the fictional The Pandora. Of course, I could include umpteen Old Masters paintings, but it's the second line that I really focus on. It's such a shame so much talent has been lost to the world because so few women were allowed or encouraged to paint in previous centuries, and even when they did, much of their art, and names, are lost to time. Marguerite Gérard came to mind here, for her glorious art and indisputable mastery - here is L'Elève intéressante with a painting within a painting - but also because (not to distract from a female Old Master, of course...) she was the student and sister-in-law of Jean-Honoré Fragonard, the painter of The Swing, a favorite piece of mine. (I have the fridge magnet - much more affordable!) Fragonard is the artist of the painting within the painting. Incidentally, you might recognize The Swing as it's been used as inspiration in several Disney films, most notably a scene with Princess Anna in Frozen!
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun is another artist I had in mind while writing this scene. More of her below...
Source: Sotheby's | Louvre
Banksy
“Good to know. Although, apparently, it’s all the rage to sneak paintings in these days.”
“You’re thinking of Banksy years ago,” said Adam, recalling the anonymous artist who had snuck exhibits into several museums in England, France, and New York, some going unnoticed for days or more. He’d thought it was pretty funny when he read about it in the newspaper. (Excerpt, Chapter Twenty.)
Like Adam, I found it hilarious that the anonymous artist deposited their own art, which sometimes went unnoticed for quite some time, between 2003 and 2005. Museums that "received" artwork included London's The Tate, Paris's Louvre, New York's Museum of Modern Art but it's The British Museum I was thinking of while writing this scene. According to Banksy's website, the museum only came to find out about their new acquisition after reading about it on Banksy's website!
Source: Banksy
“Good to know. Although, apparently, it’s all the rage to sneak paintings in these days.”
“You’re thinking of Banksy years ago,” said Adam, recalling the anonymous artist who had snuck exhibits into several museums in England, France, and New York, some going unnoticed for days or more. He’d thought it was pretty funny when he read about it in the newspaper. (Excerpt, Chapter Twenty.)
Like Adam, I found it hilarious that the anonymous artist deposited their own art, which sometimes went unnoticed for quite some time, between 2003 and 2005. Museums that "received" artwork included London's The Tate, Paris's Louvre, New York's Museum of Modern Art but it's The British Museum I was thinking of while writing this scene. According to Banksy's website, the museum only came to find out about their new acquisition after reading about it on Banksy's website!
Source: Banksy
Van Gogh's Sunflowers
“Is that Van Gogh’s Sunflowers?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Is someone going to steal it from The National Gallery?” she wondered.
Francisco mimed zipping his lips. “The less you know, the better,” he said, grabbing a swathe of cotton to drape over it, hiding it from her eyes. “Is that Van Gogh’s Sunflowers?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Is someone going to steal it from The National Gallery?” she wondered.
Francisco mimed zipping his lips. “The less you know, the better,” he said, grabbing a swathe of cotton to drape over it, hiding it from her eyes. (Excerpt, Chapter Twenty-Seven.)
There's actually two series of Sunflowers paintings, but the Sunflowers I really associate with Van Gogh, is this one hung in London's National Gallery. I love the National Gallery and have visited many times, and have seen the painting. That, and because it's such an easily recognizable piece made me want to include it in Con Heir!
Source: Sunflowers Wiki
“Is that Van Gogh’s Sunflowers?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Is someone going to steal it from The National Gallery?” she wondered.
Francisco mimed zipping his lips. “The less you know, the better,” he said, grabbing a swathe of cotton to drape over it, hiding it from her eyes. “Is that Van Gogh’s Sunflowers?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Is someone going to steal it from The National Gallery?” she wondered.
Francisco mimed zipping his lips. “The less you know, the better,” he said, grabbing a swathe of cotton to drape over it, hiding it from her eyes. (Excerpt, Chapter Twenty-Seven.)
There's actually two series of Sunflowers paintings, but the Sunflowers I really associate with Van Gogh, is this one hung in London's National Gallery. I love the National Gallery and have visited many times, and have seen the painting. That, and because it's such an easily recognizable piece made me want to include it in Con Heir!
Source: Sunflowers Wiki
Degas sketch
"Gosh, isn’t this exciting?” she said as she led them back to the table where she worked. “I’m currently finishing the conservation of this. Do you recognize it?”
“It’s a Degas,” said Celine, tilting her head to consider the small pencil sketch of a young woman. (Excerpt, Chapter Thirty.)
Degas was known as the artist of the dance, producing countless sketches and paintings of ballet dancers. They're really charming, but I wanted to pick up on something even rarer, a sketch that wasn't one of his most famous works. I didn't have a specific sketch in mind, but something like this "Portrait of a Woman" works. Degas copied it from a Leonardo Da Vinci work. I'm not sure where the sketch hangs, but the oil version is at The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
Sources: Oil version | Sketch
"Gosh, isn’t this exciting?” she said as she led them back to the table where she worked. “I’m currently finishing the conservation of this. Do you recognize it?”
“It’s a Degas,” said Celine, tilting her head to consider the small pencil sketch of a young woman. (Excerpt, Chapter Thirty.)
Degas was known as the artist of the dance, producing countless sketches and paintings of ballet dancers. They're really charming, but I wanted to pick up on something even rarer, a sketch that wasn't one of his most famous works. I didn't have a specific sketch in mind, but something like this "Portrait of a Woman" works. Degas copied it from a Leonardo Da Vinci work. I'm not sure where the sketch hangs, but the oil version is at The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
Sources: Oil version | Sketch
The Jesus in oils 'restoration'
“Very good! Oh, well done. It’s not as sought after as his dancers but very pretty.” Angela clapped her hands, pleased. “It just needed a little light cleaning. One has to be very careful with pencil sketches in case one accidentally erases any of the lead. I’m sure you’ve heard of that misguided restoration attempt in Spain?”
“The Jesus in oils?” asked Celine. (Excerpt, Chapter Thirty.)
This tragic "restoration" of Elias Garcia Martinez's Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) in Borja, Spain, made headlines around the world when a misguided person attempted to give the fresco a clean. But it seemed to work out as the unexpected publicity gave the town's tourism a huge boost. There's even a Spanish film in which thieves attempt to steal it. I do love a good heist story ;-)
Source: Artnet
“Very good! Oh, well done. It’s not as sought after as his dancers but very pretty.” Angela clapped her hands, pleased. “It just needed a little light cleaning. One has to be very careful with pencil sketches in case one accidentally erases any of the lead. I’m sure you’ve heard of that misguided restoration attempt in Spain?”
“The Jesus in oils?” asked Celine. (Excerpt, Chapter Thirty.)
This tragic "restoration" of Elias Garcia Martinez's Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) in Borja, Spain, made headlines around the world when a misguided person attempted to give the fresco a clean. But it seemed to work out as the unexpected publicity gave the town's tourism a huge boost. There's even a Spanish film in which thieves attempt to steal it. I do love a good heist story ;-)
Source: Artnet
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
When they disappeared into the third gallery, Cass was busy gazing at a rather pretty portrait by Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun in the long, wide gallery that would soon seat hundreds of oblivious guests. (Excerpt, Chapter Thirty-One.)
I adore "Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat", one of my favorite paintings by the French neoclassicist, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. We are so lucky her art was encouraged and is still exhibited around the world. Although I have a painting like this in my fictional Swiss Art Haus museum, this painting can be found in London's The National Gallery too.
Picture Source.
When they disappeared into the third gallery, Cass was busy gazing at a rather pretty portrait by Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun in the long, wide gallery that would soon seat hundreds of oblivious guests. (Excerpt, Chapter Thirty-One.)
I adore "Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat", one of my favorite paintings by the French neoclassicist, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. We are so lucky her art was encouraged and is still exhibited around the world. Although I have a painting like this in my fictional Swiss Art Haus museum, this painting can be found in London's The National Gallery too.
Picture Source.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the art of Con Heir! Thank you for reading!