Review: The Creation of Eve

With The Creation of Eve, Lynn Cullen brings the unusual life of Sofonisba Anguissola, renowned female artist of the sixteenth century, to the world. In a time and place where women did not have careers or leave the home without the watchful eye of a chaperone, Sofonisba studied in Rome with Michelangelo, and lived for almost ten years in the court of King Philip II of Spain as an artist and painting teacher before marrying and traveling extensively, always painting the events and people of her life. I loved reading about how Sofonisba was able to study painting within the social constraints of her time. Through Lydia at G.P. Putnam's I was able to ask a few questions about Lynn's research process and inspiration. Here's her reply, so take a minute to get to know Lynn, and through her a little about Sofonisba, who is shown here in one of her many self portraits.

Elizabeth was kind enough to ask me how I discovered Sofonisba Anguissola, and what inspired me to write a novel about her. The answer, in short, is like many of the best things that happen to you in life: it was an accident.I had thought it might be interesting to write a book about Philip II of Spain As a longtime fan of Tudor history, I knew he was the terrible despot who had the nerve to send out the Armada against good Queen Elizabeth. I had read that he was very close to his daughter, and that he was so private that he wouldn’t allow a biography to be written about him. So I thought it might be great fun to have his daughter write a biography, and while doing so, discover, to her surprise and horrification, what a monster her father was. As usual, the surprise was on me. I learned that he really was a decent king who devoted his time either to his family or judiciously governing his far-flung lands.  As the richest man in the world, he could have immersed himself in sport and luxury. Other kings had. But his concern was for Spain and his children. I was paging through a biography on him when I came across the painting, Lady in a Fur Wrap, attributed there to Sofonisba Anguissola.The painting alone was enough to completely turn my head.I wanted to write about the mysterious and painfully defiant subject of the painting, whoever she was. I’d make her up, if it wasn’t known. I had to write about her. Then I read that the painter, Sofonisba Anguissola, was a lady-in-waiting and painting instructor to Philip’s teen aged queen. Another abrupt turn. What if I had Sofonisba narrate the story instead of Philip’s daughter?

But the more I read about Sofonisba, the more I knew she was my star. Here was a woman who painted professionally when only men were doing so. She wasn’t allowed to study human bodies from the nude, and so unable to accurately depict the scantily clothed subjects in the historical or Biblical scenes so popular then, she painted portraits. She took this a step further by doing something no one else thought to do then: paint scenes from her family life.

Her painting, Portrait of the Artist’s Sisters Playing Chess, predates the genre painting that Dutch artists would popularize by a century. If she didn’t invent genre painting, she certainly was one of its earliest pioneers. Incidentally, she included her servant in several of her home-life scenes. This servant became Francesca in The Creation of Eve. I’m not aware of anyone carefully painting their servants during this era. I loved Sofi for it.

Painting aside, Sofonisba was incredibly gutsy. She traveled around Italy to paint in the various ducal courts when most women didn’t leave their houses except to go to church. She painted under Michelangelo. (This made a siren go off in my head. Get to the writing pad!) She went to Spain to teach the queen to paint. She fell in love with the young captain of the ship on her final voyage home and married him soon after they hit the shore. (He was a younger man, which makes her the original cougar.) And in her old age, she gave that whippersnapper Anthony van Dyck lessons, which would serve him well when he became painter to the English court.

So, why write about Sofonisba Anguissola? How could I not write about her? Thank you for allowing me to gush about one of my favorite characters!

As you can see from Lynn's response, there's even more to Sofonisba's career than the time she spent at the Spanish court. Her education and later travels with her husbands gave her many rich experiences to record through her painting.
TLC Book Tours has organized this book tour for The Creation of Eve and I am proud to be the caboose. For more information about Lynn Cullen and her wonderful adult debut, you can visit the other cars on the train at TLC Book Tours.