Amy sackville, in her third novel, zooms all the way in on velazquezs life and work at court. This is an excerpt from painter to the king by amy sackville, an account of the life of diego velazquez from his arrival at the court of king philip iv of spain in may 1622, to his death 38 years and several hundred paintings later, published by granta books. Amy sackville is a writer of rare talent, an exquisite novelist who has been praised for her luminous prose and sumptuous language. The novel begins with the narrator who may be, though one cannot say for sure. It is a portrait of a relationship that is not quite a friendship, between an artist and his subject. This is an intriguing and insightful reimagining of the life of spanish painter diego valazques, who was the official painter to king philip iv of spain during the 17th century.
He remained a member of the kings household for the rest of his life. Painter to the king by amy sackville this is a portrait of diego velazquez, from his arrival at the court of king philip iv of spain, to his death 38 years and scores of paintings later. A novel of brilliance, imagination, intrigue and style about the painter velazquez and his royal subject and benefactor, king philip iv of spain. As the title would suggest, this is a novel that delves into the. It is, ostensibly, a fictional biography of diego velazquez, covering in particular the decades he spent in the service of king philip iv of spain and the relationship which developed between the artist and the monarch who was his royalloyal patron. Her third novel, painter to the king, about diego velazquez and the court of philip iv of spain was published in 2018. Painter to the king by amy sackville, 9781783783922, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Back in march at the london book fair earlier this year, vanessa wheeler sat down with the author amy sackville to ask her about her writing techniques, and the release of her third novel, painter to the king granta books, 2018. Amy sackvilles painter to the king is one such work. It had also earlier been nominated for that years orange prize for fiction. Her first novel was the still point, which was longlisted for the orange prize and won the 2010 john llewellyn rhys prize and her second was.
Not available to order from this website, please try another retailer. This is a portrait of diego vel zquez, from his arrival at the court of king philip iv of spain, to his death 38 years a. I am an author and a teacher of creative writing at the university of kent i mostly write novels, and sometimes other things. She studied english and theatre studies at leeds, and went on to an mphil in english at exeter college, oxford, and last year completed the. Through the painters eyes, we are shown the splendours and the miseries of philips life and court and we watch the unfolding of the artists genius for depicting the physical reality of that world and its inhabitants. Portrait of a man by georges perec, translated by david bellos. This fictional account of the artists life at the court of philip iv confirms its daring authors extraordinary gifts. As time passed, the relationship between the king and his painter became more intimate.
Painter to the king ebook by amy sackville 9781783783915. It shows the spanish royal household, their dwarves, a mastiff, a perplexing reflection of the king and queen in a mirror and the court painter himself, trapped forever in this. It is a portrait of a relationship that is not quite a friendship, between. Amy sackville interviewed by sandeep mahal for fiction.
The king too is young, restless at turns consumed by optimistic cheer and. Sackvilles novel follows diego velazquez and his patron philip iv through several decades of the kings reign. Painter to the king follows the spanish court painter diego velazquez from entering king philip ivs court until his death in 1660. Inevitably, the story begins and almost ends with las meninas.
It helps to have a minds gallery of diego velazquez portraits while reading amy sackville s novel painter to the king. Amy sackville on the top 10 novels about painters books. The new novel from amy sackville a story of imagination and intrigue about the painter velazquez and his royal subject and benefactor, king philip iv of spain. A compelling portrait of the long professional relationship between the painter, diego velazquez and his master, the 17th century king of spain, philip iv. Painting, influenced by humanism, had become painterly rather than linear. Wellliked and respected within the court, it is fair to say that velazquez was far from pretentious when selecting the subjects of his work, ranging from the royal family in all their splendour to an old peasant woman cooking eggs. Amy sackvilles painter to the king granta is an astonishing work of historical fiction, taking the reader deep into the world of diego velazquez, bringing the court of philip iv to. Painter to the king international dublin literary award.
While it might be described as a fictional biography, what painter to the king does most consistently and remarkably is convey what it feels. The artist in amy sackvilles painter to the king is diego velazquez, who left seville in 1622 and arrived in madrid at the court of king philip iv of spain, where his artistic brilliance was soon rewarded by the king who appointed him as court painter. The still point is a 2010 novel by british author amy sackville. Amy sackville uses the paintings themselves to create a vivid evocation of a dark, claustrophobic court where power is concentrated on the person of the king. The novelan immersive blend of art history, sensory detail, and spatial explorationtells the story of the complex relationship between king philip iv of spain. It shows the personal and political weakness of the king and his struggle to provide. She studied english and theatre studies at leeds, and went on to an mphil in english at exeter college, oxford, where she specialised in modernism. Painter to the king by amy sackville golden hare books.
The still point, her first book, was awarded the john llewellyn rhys prize for a work of literature by a. Amy sackville school of english university of kent. Painter to the king kent universitys amy sackville. Complex and enigmatic this painting looks into questions of reality and illusion and amy sackvilles writing also has at times a dreamlike quality and she also at one point inserts herself into the novel writing in the first person adding to the feeling. Sackville triumphs at describing how baroque art was made. He would retain that position painter to the king until his death in 1660. About the author 2018 amy sackville was born in 1981.
Fiction the online edition painter to the king amy sackville. By the time velazquez was painter to the king, gone were the days of botticelli and his clean limpid lines. The book was sackvilles debut novel, and was the winner of the 2010 john llewellyn rhys prize. Painter to the king portrays the spanish court through his eyes. She studied english and theatre studies at leeds, and went on to an mphil in english at exeter. Read painter to the king by amy sackville available from rakuten kobo. Painter to the king by amy sackville used very good. This is a fine novel, but there are problems for the reader in a book that is so introspective and yet so. Painter to the king by amy sackville 9781783783908.