19 July 2015

Review #275: The Painter of Souls by Philip Kazan



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

----Pablo Picasso



Pip Vaughan-Hughes, an English writer, writing under the name of Philip Kazan, pens a mystifying historical fiction, The Painter of Souls that is based on the life and times of the famous painter, Fra Filippo Lippi, during the 15th century Renaissance Florence. Although there is not much known to this great historic painter's life, so the author immerses into Filippo's paintings to give a fictional sketch of his early as well as later life in Florence.




Synopsis:

Beauty can be a gift...or a wicked temptation...

So it is for Filippo Lippi, growing up in Renaissance Florence. He has a talent - not only can he see the beauty in everything, he can capture it, paint it. But while beauty can seduce you, and art can transport you - it cannot always feed you or protect you.

To survive, Filippo di Tommaso Lippi, street urchin, forger, drinker, seducer of nuns must become Fra Fra Filippo Lippi - Carmelite friar, man of God. Yet at the same time he is Lippo Lippi, creator of some the most radiantly beautiful paintings, Botticelli's teacher, Medici's confidante.

So who is he really - lover, believer, father, teacher, artist? Which man? Which life? Is anything true except the paintings?

An extraordinary journey of passion, art and intrigue, The Painter of Souls takes us to a time and place in Italy's history where desire reigns and salvation is found in the strangest of places.



Fra Filippo Lippi, born in the 15th century Florence, belongs to the second generation artists of Renaissance period. According to the book, Filippo, a.k.a, Pippo, began his life as a street urchin with other homeless boys when his father died and his mother took ill. But luck saves him from living in the streets, when he was rescued by the monks from Carmelite monastery and gave him an opportunity to be a friar in that convent. Unfortunately, he was not too keen to lead that sort of life, instead he continued to draw and one day, when he captures the true essence of a homeless woman and her baby by their souls on a cloak, his art and skill gets noticed by Masaccio, yet another legendary artist of Renaissance period. Followed by an apprenticeship under the great artist while living the convent life, we see Pippo the Sketcher transforming into Fra Filippo Lippi while capturing the angels and the souls of everyday life with such ease and kindness and compassion.

The writing is extremely lyrical and the prose flows like a poetic verse. The author's eloquent words and Florentine flair draws the readers into the core of the story right from the very first page. There is not much narration, but they are kept engaging.

There is lot of art and the art-lovers are in for a treat if they pick this book up, especially the 15th century art when the churches and the cathedrals were being painted with angels and the Virgin and with the images from Christ folklore in Florence for the first time. Since there is not much known about Lippi and his life, so the author relies mostly on Lippi's artwork as well as his own desire for art to re-create as well as give a beautiful painting to his life that is eye-catchy with bright hues of colors and angelic faces. The art world in Florence is the focal point in the book that features some of the greatest artists of that time.



The timeline and city are perfectly depicted into the book, thus promising the readers with a time-warp kind-of feeling. From the culture to the society to the linguistic style to the fashion to the poverty on the streets to the religious values and its importance in Florence in the mid 15th century are vividly portrayed as well as incorporated in the story.

The story about this young boy unreels mostly like a dreamy adventure where there is love, compassion, religion and friendships with light humor and where the author strikingly catches the fine skyline of Florence, thus making the novel a masterpiece of great art work.

Verdict: A perfect read for all those historical fiction lovers and if you want to experience Florence like never before, then do grab a copy of this compelling novel about one of the legendary Florentine artists of all times.

Courtesy: Thanks to Trip Fiction as well as Orion Publishing for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book. 
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Author Info:
Pip Vaughan-Hughes was born in London in 1964 and grew up in Devon. Pip also writes under the name Philip Kazan. He studied Medieval History at London University. Having been warned by his family that he should on no account ever become a freelance writer, he worked in the publishing industry in London and New York, dabbled in landscape gardening and journalism and co-owned a restaurant in Vermont, before he decided that the best advice is the advice that you ignore, and turned to writing full time.

Pip is the author of Relics, Vault of Bones, Painted in Blood, and The Fools’ Crusade (the Petroc of Auneford quartet) and Appetite. He now lives on the edge of Dartmoor with his wife, three children and a very large black cat.
Visit him here 


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2 comments:

  1. It is a beautifully lyrical book and really can pick up the flavour and feel of 15th Century Florence.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very well said @TripFiction. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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