My Life with BERTI SPRANGER, by Eva Jana Siroka
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My Life with BERTI SPRANGER, by Eva Jana Siroka
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Pieter Van de Graeff had no idea that his life as an affluent bachelor and art dealer would change overnight with the discovery of a memoir by Bartholomaeus Spranger (1546-1611), a gifted Flemish-born artist known for centuries for his erotic paintings. Pieter's chance encounter with Karolina Sv?tlá, a history student in Prague, gradually blends their lives with Spranger's as she translates the manuscript. While meeting in New York for the first major exhibition of his art, Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague (Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 2014-January 2015), two people from dissimilar walks of life strive to understand each other. Spranger's vibrant vignettes from the imperial court of Rudolf II Habsburg, a melancholy ruler isolated in a dazzling world of art, color Pieter and Karo's relationship four hundred years later. The plot explores human passions in which lust, man's oldest obsession, often reigns over affairs of heart and reason.MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW "Erudite, deftly crafted, and an inherently fascinating read from first page to last, "My Life with Berti Spranger" is one of those novels that will linger in the mind and memory long after it is finished and set back upon the shelf. Certain to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, community and academic library Literary Fiction collections, "My Life with Berti Spranger" is enthusiastically recommended reading."Margaret Lane ReviewerFOREWORD BOOK REVIEW "An intriguing plot and engaging story highlight this tale of love and art... My Life with Berti Spranger, a novel by art historian and artist Eva Jana Siroka, stars an art collector who discovers a memoir by sixteenth-century erotic painter Bartholomaeus Spranger. This brings him into contact with a student of history, and Spranger's titillating art and writing help to prompt the modern pair to romance. Pieter Van de Graeff is a wealthy art dealer and confirmed bachelor in early middle age. When he comes across a manuscript he believes was written by Spranger, he is thrilled, not least by the profit this may bring. When he meets, equally by chance, the young Karolina Svetlá... she turns out also to be a history student and competent translator of the document. As Pieter carries on his materialistic, jet-setting lifestyle, he is increasingly drawn to Karo, a strangely mercurial character. The sexual nature of Spranger's writings influences the relationship that develops between Pieter and the younger woman. The perspective offered on historical Prague... is perhaps the most appealing part of the novel... many minor characters in Spranger's story are true to history as well, and Siroka's background as an art historian lends credibility to that aspect of her work. Siroka's own illustrations accompany the text and are another highlight... The art historian's fictionalization of the life of a fascinating figure is remarkable and worthwhile... [and] will please those interested in historical figures."Julia Jenkins Reviewer
My Life with BERTI SPRANGER, by Eva Jana Siroka- Amazon Sales Rank: #5149526 in Books
- Published on: 2015-05-06
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.02" h x .37" w x 5.98" l, .53 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 158 pages
Review MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW "Erudite, deftly crafted, and an inherently fascinating read from first page to last, "My Life with Berti Spranger" is one of those novels that will linger in the mind and memory long after it is finished and set back upon the shelf."FOREWORD BOOK REVIEW "An intriguing plot and engaging story highlight this tale of love and art... stars an art collector who discovers a memoir by sixteenth-century erotic painter Bartholomaeus Spranger. Siroka's own illustrations accompany the text and are another highlight."
About the Author Eva Jana Siroka, an art historian and artist born in Bratislava, Slovakia, received her doctorate at Princeton University. A Renaissance scholar with interest in princely patronage, especially Rudolfine Prague, she has been drawn to Spranger's art for decades. In 2005, she published her novel Maddalena with the artist as a central character. Since 1971 (B.F.A, Hunter College, CUNY), her training in art history and fine arts has merged together with her academic and creative writing, and her art. A professional artist with works in North America and Europe, the author is currently preparing exhibitions in Princeton and Toronto. Inspired by Spranger's original drawings and period prints, she has illustrated the current book and designed its cover.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A fast-paced tale built on solid scholarship By mibo My Life with Bertie Spranger straddles the centuries, jumping back and forth between events in sixteenth-century imperial Prague, and the modern story of a wealthy art dealer with lessons to learn from the libertine painter whose memoir traces an arc of increasing regret.Spranger's and Rudolf's escapades burn deeply into the historic fabric of the novel. Siroka's writing is evocative and enjoyable, and it's easy to forget that it's based on scholarship. Berti is inspired by Siroka's extensive research for her doctoral thesis in the museums, libraries, photographic cabinets, and archives around the world, and her contacts with leading experts in the field.Set against the backdrop of a dissolute court and an eccentric emperor increasingly less connected to his duties, Spranger, a chastened womanizer, falls in love with 14-year-old Christine, an intelligent young woman interested in collecting precious stones and minerals. Along the way, the artist hobnobs with the giants of the time. Spranger's "memoir," discovered by Van de Graeff in Vienna and drenched with the old man's fear of dying without confession and absolution, has resonant implications for the extremely wealthy bachelor coming to terms with his own complicated love life, particularly as the head of an important European art auction house.Never told before, My Life with Berti Spranger is a rich tale of love, lust, and the ceaseless quest to find meaning in life. Eva Siroka has given us the gift of an art history course wrapped in a down-to-earth compelling story. One wonders, with some excitement, what she has in store for Book Three.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Something out of the ordinary By Michael K. A copy of this book fell into my hands while I was between reading a number of recently published World War II era novels. I was looking for a break, something outside of the mainstream of my reading, and this proved to be an excellent choice. The story within a story format has always been a favorite of mine, and the intriguing fall from present day Europe back into the 1500s by use of a plausible devise in the story line was quite satisfying. Clearly the author knows her way around the cities and museums she describes so deftly and this gave me the feeling of being taken on a private tour with a very knowledgeable guide. Portions of the book have a scholarly almost academic feel, but it is totally accessible to the average reader and I found it very enjoyable.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. SERENDIPITY: Finding something delightful when you're not looking for it! By Glenn H MacEwen After finishing "My Life with Berti Spranger" I'd love to visit Vienna, the city where Pieter Van de Graeff found a memoir written by a famous, or should I say infamous (?), Flemish-born painter Berti Spranger. After his chance discovery, the immensely rich bachelor art dealer flies in his private plane from one European city to another the way most people drive to shop in the suburbs, trying to figure out what to do with the precious manuscript. The artist's name is Bartholomaeus, but by the time I finished the book I started to feel for Berti, who lived at a time when people were terrified to die and be punished in hell. And Spranger's sins are heavier than his weight in gold! The man who spent his life serving famous people, is mostly known today for the erotic paintings he painted for a Habsburg Emperor who loved women and collecting art, and only then thought about ruling an empire torn by war and religious strife.I prefer non-fiction. But before long, I was caught up in two separate story lines illustrated by the author, the second one involving Karolina, a young history student hired by Pieter to translate the manuscript. Their tale is set in several European cities as well as in New York and Princeton, where Pieter and Karo meet to visit the first art exhibition on the artist in the United States. Separated by more than four centuries and featuring plots with a distinct narrative voice, the parallel stories mirror each other as they follow the highly amorous escapades of the Flemish lothario and become involved in the process. With great attention to detail, and references to real events on the contemporary art market scene (not typical in a historical novel), the plot moves with an amazing speed and grips the reader until the last word. Pieter and Karo, two people from completely different stations in life are so real that when I finished the story, I instantly hoped that the author would write a sequel to their tale.
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