Jonathan Harr’s latest nonfiction title, The Lost Painting, is an interesting and elaborate little book about the art world’s uncovering of a Caravaggio painting entitled, “The Taking of Christ”. The book reads like fiction, which is probably why I got through it so quickly, and it’s an engrossing story, for both those obsessed by art and those (like myself) who just like to look at pretty pictures. And that’s really all I have to say about that…
Well, except maybe this: I’m a bit sad now that we didn’t go to the National Gallery of Ireland when we were there this summer, now that I know that’s where the painting lives. I always like to see the piece of artwork after reading about it, finding the pieces very interesting sort of bookends to the written word. It was serendipitous when the RRBF and I were in Paris two Februaries ago. I had just finished Tracy Chevalier’s The Lady and the Unicorn and we actually got to see the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry at the Cluny Museum, one of my favourite museums in Paris.
Maybe it’s just the idea of inspiration that intrigues me, seeing first-hand how one object inspires a writer to create a work of their own art.