The Princess and the Painter - Hardcover

Johnson, Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374361185 ISBN 13: 9780374361181

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1994

Synopsis

Infanta Margarita sometimes gets tired of being a princess and always having to act like a princess, but the artist Don Diego Vela+a7zquez, who is painting her into his masterpiece, has a wonderful surprise for her.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3?Johnson has created a story from one of the most famous paintings of the 17th century, Velazquez's Las Meninas. Her full-and double-page illustrations imposed with brief text bring readers into the rooms and gardens of the palace as the young Infanta Margarita, full of charm and childlike impatience, hurries through her day in anticipation of seeing the much-loved court painter and his newly completed work. The princess seems to step from Velazquez's masterpiece, as do her ladies-in-waiting, her royal parents, governess, the court dwarves, a handsome dog and, above all, the painter himself. Johnson's skill in capturing each character as Velazquez portrayed them, her research into the dress and furnishings of the period, and the careful depiction of the formidably structured daily life of the court inform readers both of the making of the great work and of the life of the ruling class in Spain's greatest age. Ruth Craft's Pieter Brueghel's The Fair (Lippincott, 1976; o.p.), Ewa Zadrzynska's Girl with a Watering Can (Chameleon, 1990), and Sharon Wooding's The Painter's Cat (Putnam, 1994) are also based on specific paintings, but none of them succeeds as well as this charming offering. A delightful glimpse of a vanished world and an introduction to one of history's greatest artists.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

In an impressive stretch, Johnson (Grandma's Bill) places her work in the style-and formidable shadow of-Diego Velazquez. The figures from Las Meninas, the 1656 painting of the five-year-old Infanta Margarita and her courtiers, people this bittersweet musing about the Spanish princess's friendship with the artist. "'Today Don Diego will finish his painting. I shall see it at last!' The Infanta Margarita bounced on her bed with delight." The princess's day is one of stiff clothes and dignified behavior, but when she finally sees Las Meninas and finds herself the main subject, she and Don Diego hug-a rare taste of affection for the lonely princess. Testifying to the inspirational power of art, Johnson's imaginings may entice children to think more deeply about the individual works they encounter. But the style of the somber Spanish master is an unlikely choice for sparking the interest of the picture book set. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0374361185
• ISBN 13: 9780374361181
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32