Reporting May 2022 - Back to the Gallery

[Rusalka, Moderator]

We've spent a lot of time travelling about this year. Road tripping, hiking, running. It's been pretty busy. And while we've stopped to smell the flowers and to look at some baby animals, it's time to get some culture back into our lives since we left the Museums behind in 2021. And a randomiser thrown in for good measure.

Head to https://random-ize.com/random-art-gal...

This will generate for you one classic piece of art. That is what you will be basing your reading off this month. It can be a book based off something in the artwork, to do with the artist, the year it was painted, something you feel looking at it, the colours in the art... Whatever!

However, you have to explain the link to us, and we have to be able to understand the link. Also it has to be your FIRST generated artwork, no sneaky changing (I think the button to generate more is broken anyway to stop you being tempted).

So go forth! Sit down in a marble foyer on a bench and enjoy your personal art gallery.

General Rules:

1. The book may be in any format - paperback, ebook, audiobook.
2. The book must be read between May 1 and May 31, 2022 (based on your local time zone).
3. The challenge is for one book. You may read more books if you chose but you may only report one.
4. The book must be 175 pages or more determined by the issue you read.

Reporting:

You must include your Wall of Fame name so I can find you.
What was your artwork? (don't link the website, it's a random generator)
What did you read?
How did you get from the art to the book?
What did you think of the book? Not just "It was good", please give us some details!

Simples! Enjoy everyone.

[Almeta]

WoF Almeta


Painting Name: San Giorgio e il Dragone
Artist: Paolo Uccello
Date: 1470
Currently on Display: National Gallery, London

Read The Tropic of Serpents

Sequel to A Natural History of Dragons in
The Memoirs of Lady Trent series.

There is a picture of a dragon on the front, Lady Trent is considered "the world’s premier dragon naturalist" and there are dragons in the storyline.

As the second in the series, this one wasn't as much fun. Not fresh material anymore.

I do like that Lady Trent never fails to assert that her rights as a women are just as valid as a man's, despite the cultural trappings she must endure.

I will continue the series, want to meet new creatures.

[Jayme, Moderator]

WoF Jayme


Painting Name: Greco
Artist: Unknown
Date: 1610
Currently on Display: National Gallery, Washington

I read One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle.

Connection: There is a town on a hill in the background of both the the painting and the book cover.

This was a very tender and honest look at how special and complicated mother/daughter relationships can be and how grief and lose can lead to discovery.
It is also a love letter to Positano, Italy. I felt like I was walking the streets eating gelato while reading. I think I know where our next vacation will be.

[christene_littlelibrary]

WoF Christene Paula



Painting Name: Metamorphose de Narcisse
Artist: Dali
Date: 1937
Currently on Display: Tate Gallery, London

I was planning to read a greek myth but choose The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid instead.

Connection: If you already read this book, we all know that Evelyn Hugo was a narcisist. She was calculating, she used people. She was also passionate, ambitious, sexy, and sensual. How she got to the top may make her seem unlikable, but the essential parts of her she's had to hide to get there undercut much of what villainizes her. She's the perfect "unlikable yet likable" character.

[Lynn]

WoF - Lynn

Painting Name: Family
Artist: Schiele
Date: 1917
Currently on Display: Belvedere, Wien

I read In an Instant

Connection: The painting's name is Family, and this book is all about family, and the dynamics of that family after a major incident.

This was actually a reread for me because I managed to persuade quite a few of my online friends to read it with me this month.
I loved it just as much as the first time. Such a thought provoking, heart wrenching, wonderful book. I highly recommend for anyone to pick this up if you've not done already.

[Katrisa]

WoF Katrisa
I also had
Painting Name: Family
Artist: Schiele
Date: 1917
Currently on Display: Belvedere, Wien

I read The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides
It is a Greek tragedy about a family cursed by the gods (family - family connection). Also I thought the family in the painting looks a bit tragic.
I chose this book because I recently read House of Names which is a retelling of the Orestes story. I love Greek tragedy so I loved this one. Also I don't think I ever actually read the third part of the trilogy, The Eumenides so that was cool. And it gave me an excuse to bust out the A Perfect Circle song - Orestes which I love.

[♞ Pat]

My piece is Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau
Date: 1897
Currently on Display: Museum of Modern Art, New York


Book #1 ~
The White Girl by Tony Birch
Read ~ 5.9.22
Pages ~ 272

Rationale ~ The book is set in Australia during the time period when the government was removing children from the aboriginal people and placing them in foster homes. The central character is Odette, who is an Australian aborigine, which makes her a person of color like the gypsy in the painting.

[Shirley]

Painting Name: Bethlem
Artist: Bruegel the Elder
Date: 1566
Currently on Display: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

My task: because the painting has several buildings in it, I read a book with more than one building on the cover.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog
I read the ebook. The paperback is 325 pages.

Overall, I didn’t particularly enjoy the book. The chapters are short (a good thing), the endless philosophising is boring (a bad thing), the characters are interesting (a good thing) and the ending is unexpected ( neither good nor bad).

[Sharon]

WoFSharonBiskit

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...

I read The Dutch Wife. My artwork was The Astronomer by Vermeer. Vermeer is Dutch. I chose to read a book that has the word “Dutch” in the title.

To be honest, I need a break from WWII books. I will admit that this book had a bit of a twist. It was told from the viewpoint of a Dutch wife, Marijke, who was interred in Buchenwald’s prison as a prostitute for inmates higher in the hierarchy. (No money exchanged or Jewish prisoners or prostitutes.) It is her story as a young wife and political prisoner and that of Karl, who was an official at Buchenwald and who falls in love with Marijke. It is also a dual time line story with another story line taking place in 1977 in Buenos Aries with a young political prisoner, Lorenzo.

The story line was rather depressing and graphic in places. It was interesting like an accident is when you can’t turn away but are horrified. The inevitable choice of “How would I react?” is ever present. It is a story about loyalty, power abused and man’s inhumanity towards man. It was not a light read, but I am glad I read it.

[Odette]

WoF - Odette


Painting Name: Judith I
Artist: Klimt
Date: 1901
Currently on Display: Belvedere, Wien

Judith and the Head of Holofernes is an oil painting by Gustav Klimt, painted in 1901. It depicts the biblical figure Judith holding the head of Holofernes after beheading him.

I read Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs

Beheading is the connection with the painting. In this book a murder victim is found beheaded.

This book is the 11th in the Temperance Brennan series. I have read one other book in this series, which I did enjoy. However, jumping to this one think I lost of some the context with the main/recurring characters. The style of writing is very atmospheric, which appealed to me, and enjoyed the mystery/suspense. However, to get the most out of this book, think that this is a series that needs to be read from the beginning.

[Silver]

WoF - Silver



Painting: Dogs Playing Poker
Artist: Cassius Marcellus Coolidge
Date: 1903

As it so happens this was one of my favorite paintings as a kid. As I was contemplating what direction I wanted to go with this one a book title just popped into my head.

I read 52 Pick-Up by Elmore Leonard

The connection is card games, 52 Pick is the name of a common card game.

I tend to enjoy Leonard's writing. It is usually a little bit (or a lot a bit) dark, with a touch of humor, and some action. The gist of the story was about a man being blackmailed after he has an affair, and ultimately he decides to get revenge against the blackmailers.

The book was a "fun" read, it was fairly fast paced, and entertaining. I did not think it was as rich as some of his other books, but I liked the grittiness of it. I enjoyed the wit of the writing, and that sort of noir feel it had, I also thought the characters where well drawn, if not necessarily very likeable, or good people.

[Anna]

Wof Anna M

Painting Name: Nascita di Venere
Artist: Sandro Botticelli
Date: 1485
Currently on Display: Uffizi, Firenze

I read Енеїда by Ivan Kotliarevsky an Ukrainian poem written in 1798. Venus/Venere is one of the characters in this poem.

I liked it well enough however misogyny level was a bit too much. No more than in other classic works but still.

[Janice, Moderator]

WoF - Janice

My artwork:





The book that I read was Edinburgh Twilight The art showed men wearing hats and was quite dark. The book was primarily black and showed a man wearing a hat. I liked the story well enough, but it dragged. I think it could have used a good editor to chop out some superfluous detail.

[Ayacchi]

WoF Aya



Painting name: Starry Night
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Date: 1893
Currently on Display: Museum of Modern Art in New York

The painting was inspired by the view from his window at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy, in southern France, where the artist spent twelve months in 1889–90 seeking reprieve from his mental illnesses.

I read Katarsis in which the MC (and I believe some other characters too) has mental illnesses and had to be put in an asylum for a while. I've been wanting to read this book book the GR rating isn't that good (I rely on it most of the time, lol). Though I found some missing points that intrigued me, I enjoyed it more than I expected to. The first half was good, and I didn't want to put my book down. But the second half, while still good, is kinda spinning around and rambling. And I'm not quite satisfied with the ending.

[Kira]

WoF Kira's Treasures



Painting Name: Judith I
Artist: Klimt
Date: 1901
Currently on Display: Belvedere, Wien

Judith and the Head of Holofernes is an oil painting by Gustav Klimt, painted in 1901. It depicts the biblical figure Judith holding the head of Holofernes after beheading him.

Judith and the Head of Holofernes (also known as Judith I, German: Judith und Holofernes)[1] is an oil painting by Gustav Klimt, painted in 1901. It depicts the biblical figure Judith holding the head of Holofernes after beheading him. The beheading and its aftermath have been commonly portrayed in art since the Renaissance, and Klimt himself would paint a second work depicting the subject in 1909.

I read Legendborn since it's a mythologial retelling. I got the idea from reading about the mythology behind the painting.


I also really like the cover and found similarities in the expression depicted in both the painting and the bookcover!

This book is about the King Arthurian legend and I really liked the female lead (King being the main focus and all). I had expected to love it but that wasn't the case. A few parts of the book left me unsatisfied and bored. The character development was good and I really liked how people bonded in the book. All in all, it was a decent read and I enjoyed it mostly.

[Amanda (Mandy)]

[image error]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Las...

Painting: The Last Judgement
Artist: Michelangelo
Date: 1541

he Last Judgment (Italian: Il Giudizio Universale)[1] is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. The dead rise and descend to their fates, as judged by Christ who is surrounded by prominent saints. Altogether there are over 300 figures, with nearly all the males and angels originally shown as nudes; many were later partly covered up by painted draperies, of which some remain after recent cleaning and restoration.

I read Galdoni .
It depicts a male on the cover with angel wings which reminds me of the images of angels in the painting.

[Trudy]

WofF TrudyAn

My image:


The painting is titled Whistler's Mother.

I used "mother" to link the book I chose to the painting. I read You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie. This memoir was written after Alexie's mother passed away at age 78. The book features 78 stories and poems, often focussing on his strong, beautiful mother's difficult life and his complicated relationship with her.

I found this book tough to read in parts - life on and off the reservation, alcoholism, racism, abuse, and poverty were recurring themes. I liked the straightforward writing and the humour, even when dark. Through telling stories from varying perspectives, Alexis shared with the reader both his fear of his powerful mother, and his respect and love.

[Camilla]

WoF Camilla

Artwork:


Painting Name: The Battle Between Carnival and Lent
Artist: Bruegel
Date: 1559
Currently on Display: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien

I chose a quite straightforward link of the time of the painting and read a book set in the 16th century, in the 1580's.
Lumottu
I don't read too much historical fiction, and wasn't thrilled about this either. The MC Silje was plain stupid and gullible. But I was able to use the book both for this monthly challenge and the yearly challenge, so that was good.

[Emma R.]

WoF Emma R.
I had

Painting Name: The Potato Eaters
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Date: 1885

I read The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan. I chose that book because the characters have a lot of camaraderie throughout the book, and looking at the painting, it seems like the subjects could be viewed as being a team that supports each other

I enjoyed this book, it was the final book in the series and it did a great job of wrapping up all the storylines.

[Lanelle]

WoF Name - Lanelle

The painting I got was

Painting Name: Triumph of Death
Artist: Pieter Bruegel
Date: 1562
Currently on Display: Prado, Madrid

I have to admit I went the easy route and found a book with the word 'death' in the title because of the title of the painting.

I read 'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz). While the book isn't one of Quick's better novels, it is still a enjoyable read. I liked reading about both of the MCs and their families. I didn't guess who the bad guy was. It came as a complete surprise. A solid 3 stars.

[Stacy]

WoF - Stacy SP

My Painting :



Painting Name : Metamorphose de Narcisse.
Artist : Dali
Date : 1937
Currently on Display : Tate Gallery London.

When I first saw my painting, I struggled to understand it. Not being someone who understands art on the whole, I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn.
So for this challenge, I chose to investigate the artist, Salvador Dali. My hope was to understand his reasons for painting this.

I read The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí
He began writing this when he was 30 years old and completed it when he was 37. It was originally published in 1942. In connection to the painting, Dali was a surrealist, a self-confessed narcissist and in my opinion completely eccentric. At one point in the book he refers to the narcissus as his favourite magic flower, so it wouldn't be a complete leap to imagine that the myth would have fascinated him. Interestingly, at the end of the book, he writes of undergoing his own metamorphosis. He believed that writing this autobiography would allow him to "shed his skin", and begin again. He was definitely an interesting character.
(And the chessboard....Rusalka and Kristie, you were right, there was absolutely no mention of chess in the whole book 🤣)

[Vicki]

WoF Vicki

My painting:


Painting Name: Three Musicians
Artist: Pablo Picasso
Date: 1921
Currently on Display: New York MoMA and the Philadelphia Museum of Art

I used the musicians connection and listened to Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

This was a story of a group of musicians from the USA and Germany who had formed a jazz band and friendships in Germany prior to ww2 breaking out. It was interesting to see how the nazis treated black people and especially black german people. Was also interesting how the Americans were relatively safe since America hadn't joined the war yet.
The book's view is through the bass player's memories as he recalls the jealousies and rivalries and hot tempers of the various band members. It was a good book. The more I think about it the better it is but it didn't really grab me or blow me away during the book.

[Anusha]

WoF - Anusha

Painting Name: Sposalizio della Vergine
Artist: Raffaello
Date: 1504
Currently on Display: Piancoteca di Brera, Milano

I read For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten

Connection: The marriage ceremony of the protagonists.

It was a retelling of beauty and the beast. I loved the story line, the magical forest and the Wolf. To protect the forest from dying and share their magic, the Wolf and the Second Daughter decide to marry. I did not like the villain thus far, but hoping the sequel would change my mind about it.

[Jenn]

WoF - Jenn

My art was Condition Humain

I read The Lady and the Unicorn

The artist who painted Condition Humain was Rene Magritte, who was born in Belgium. The Lady and the Unicorn was set primarily in Belgium.

This was actually a fun story of love, lust, and getting even. Everybody seemed to get what was coming to them, some for better, some for worse lol

[Kristie, Moderator]

I see that I forgot to report my read...

WoF: Kristie

My painting was "Madonna in the Church"



I decided to go with the mother and child depiction in the painting. I read Dial A for Aunties. This story was about a mother and her daughter plus 3 of the mothers sisters. The story involved more of the mother/daughter relationship than I initially expected.

Most of the story was meant to be funny or silly, but there was also an aspect about the mother/daughter relationship and the expectations put on people and how each viewed the relationship and their responsibility to it. I enjoyed the story. It was quite unbelievable, but also fun. I enjoyed watching the daughter's relationship with her mother evolve and the daughter growing into who she wanted to be.