I thought there was a sly bit of retribution tossed Marty’s way in the end. He mentions earlier in the book how much he doesn’t like Impressionism–makes a comment about Cezannes being just “bluish fuzz”–and yet in that final segment in the art gallery without his glasses, everything becomes Impressionism to him.
I noticed that the way a painting is viewed is remarked on several times. Ellie peers closely, nose almost to the canvas (until her ex tells her that it’s an “affectation”), and if I recall correctly, Sara does the same thing.
I’m rereading the book and am struck by how both Ellie and Marty seem to be at such loose ends. Lonely and virtually friendless. “Shocking loneliness” (p68)
BTW there’s no question that the Leiden museum will know their painting is a fake part of “trying to widen its reputation” is wny they are loaning the painting and Hendrik says “It’s good press for us. I assume we’ll be feature in your program?” (p77)
When Ellie asks how they got the two paintings - Hendrik says the first one was acquired a while back, but kept secret (for reasons that make no sense to me), the other one (the fake) “came on the market recently”. Ellie thinks his response sounds evasive, but that may just be her guilt.
Hendrik seems more interested in the fact that the new painting changes the meaning of the painting that Ellie thought was Sara’s last painting. He seems a little smug about that, but it interested me that Ellie’s reaction is not denial, but happiness at the thought that Sara may have moved on and continued working. I think that the parallels with her own life are deliberate. Perhaps after a long period of not really accomplishing that much she’ll write a new more interesting book about Dutch painting. (And maybe even find a Tomas of her own - why not?!)
So do I. Whether it’s the way the two women examine a painting, find ways to express their creative gifts, handle the Old Boy’s Network, or deal with loneliness, Ellie and Sara share similar struggles. Sara says about Barent, “No one has ever wronged me so” (p. 225). Ellie could have said the same about Marty.
Sara is a more admirable person than Ellie, though (in my opinion). She does break the Guild rules (leading in part to her financial ruin), but I don’t consider that much of a crime.
By the way, in the modern sections, it’s made clear that the art world has no idea what happened to Sara or Barent. Records exist only of their marriage and Kathrijn’s death. Could it be that Sara and Tomas never officially married – because how could Sara get a divorce when Barent literally sailed away out of her life? (Was there divorce in Holland in the 17th century?)
I’m pretty sure there was divorce. The Netherlands was Protestant and Henry VIII became Protestant a century earlier in order to divorce is first wife. But I don’t know if desertion would be grounds.
So Sara and Tomas marry one year after she arrives (and only one year after Barent abandons her) and have eleven happy years together before her death.
My guess: Without the formality of divorce - if such existed - Sara and Tomas just marry. Tomas asks that first summer about Sara’s husband, learns the particulars, and after that no mention of Barent.
@ignatius, thanks for the sharp eye re the marriage. I have no problem believing that records might be spotty in the 1600s, but more than that, I think the “no records” story allowed the mystery of Sara’s life to gradually unfold for the reader. The art historians might not know about her future with Tomas, but eventually, we do.
@ignatius already addressed the reunion in her post #41:
I liked the matter-of-fact interaction between the two, with both able to maintain a sense of humor despite (or perhaps because of) the awkward situation, e.g., when Ellie says “How is it even possible you’re still alive?” Or later: “I have to admit,” she says, “I don’t mind the sight of your blood.” In addition, I think that comment subtly pulls us back to to their past:
I liked the fact that the very first thing Marty says when he finally has a chance to be alone with Ellie is that he’s not here to punish her in any way. But Ellie has already figured that out, she “knows instantly he is not here to plunder her life.” An interesting notion that regret has kept him (and her) alive. What I hope most for Ellie is that she goes back to painting “She understands that she continued to paint the forgery for years in her mind, that she was forever tending the canvas because it was the last time she’d painted anything at all.”
Why do you think the author incorporated Marty’s bloody heels and need for first aid into the meeting with Ellie? It made for kind of an unusual reunion. My thought is that it represents a shift in the balance of power. When they were last together, Marty was the one in control and Ellie was “way too young for me.” When they meet again, Ellie has the upper hand and must minister to an aging Marty. In that respect, time (among other things) always separates them–she’s too young for him, then he’s too old for her.
Tomas and Sara marry a year after she arrives at Groen’s house. It seems quick but then it occurred to me that Sara only needed to work for Groen a year to satisfy her husband’s debt. I assume Tomas and Sara need to marry in order for her to stay.
And for those of you who think Rachel arranges the theft (and I still don’t), have you considered what a massive backfire that turns out to be?
Let’s see: Rachel arranges not only the theft but also for a forgery so Marty doesn’t notice the theft - meaning he can still stare at the picture whenever. (Nothing gained there if Rachel resents him studying the picture during sex.)
Then after discovering the theft, Marty discovers the forger Ellie, effectively moving him from considering meaningless dalliances into an affair involving at least some touches of love - surely not Rachel’s intent.
And in the end Marty gets the painting back anyway.
It’s an intriguing idea, but I don’t think Rachel has it in her. My impression is that she is severely depressed and incapable of doing much of anything at that point. (Though to play devil’s advocate she did arrange for the Beats to come to the fundraiser.)
@mathmom: Why did you decide to reread The Last Painting of Sara de Vos? I’m so un-caught-up with library books at the moment it’s shameful. In fact, waving bye for now - off to read.
I’m a little more than halfway through the last book in the amazing “Ibis Trilogy” by Amitav Ghosh, about the 19th century opium trade. It’s really good, but at this point I’m kind of itching to read something new.
I received both Barkskins and The Underground Railroad for my birthday this week. Yay!
I won’t necessarily reread every word, but I tend to reread as we are discussing. Books are so different the second time around when you know where they are headed. That’s when I can really see the author’s craft instead of just being caught up in the story. I’ve always been a big re-reader if I like a book.
I’m still reading A Suitable Boy which is so long I probably wouldn’t reread just because who has the time? What it’s really made me want to do is find a good readable history of India.
When I was young I reread the Lord of the Rings once a year - even though it was very long. I’ll probably still read it a few more times before I die.
No reading for me tonight! I’ll be parked in front of the TV watching the playoffs. Go Cubs!
But a few thoughts before the first pitch…
It seems like we’ve spent the lion’s share of our time on Marty and Ellie’s chapters rather than on Sara’s. Maybe because her story is a little more straightforward. Re Sara, I think these two questions are interrelated:
My short response to the first question would be, how doesn’t the memory of Kathrijn influence Sara’s art? Sara’s grief permeates her work, from the choice of a barefoot girl in At the Edge of a Wood–“a stark and forlorn figure” (p. 31)–to the winter landscape in her funeral painting: “No, it must be in winter, the trees bare, the river frozen. Out of plague season, yes, but true to the desolation of the spirit” (p. 222). Even her final painting, though more hopeful, is still about having one foot in this world and one in the next.
Yes, At the Edge of a Wood has a message that endures across the centuries, but the message is different for each viewer. Isn’t that the nature of art? The painting means one thing to Marty, another to Ellie, and still another to Pieter de Groot:
I think Sara would be delighted to know that her work had such an impact, that she had succeeded in her goal of painting “something true” (p. 285).
