The Last Painting of Sara de Vos

A Novel

By: Dominic Smith

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

A masterful new story charts the circuitous course of the sole surviving work of a female Dutch painter.

This is what we long for: the profound pleasure of being swept into vivid new worlds, worlds peopled by characters so intriguing and real that we can't shake them, even long after the audio's done.

In his award-winning earlier novels, Dominic Smith demonstrated a gift for coaxing the past to life. Now, in The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, he deftly bridges the historical and the contemporary, tracking a collision course between a rare landscape by a female Dutch painter of the golden age, an inheritor of the work in 1950s Manhattan, and a celebrated art historian who painted a forgery of it in her youth.

In 1631, Sara de Vos is admitted as a master painter to the Guild of St. Luke's in Holland, the first woman to be so recognized. Three hundred years later, only one work attributed to de Vos is known to remain - a haunting winter scene, At the Edge of a Wood, which hangs over the bed of a wealthy descendant of the original owner. An Australian grad student, Ellie Shipley, struggling to stay afloat in New York, agrees to paint a forgery of the landscape, a decision that will haunt her. Because now, half a century later, she's curating an exhibit of female Dutch painters, and both versions threaten to arrive.

As the three threads intersect, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos mesmerizes while it grapples with the demands of the artistic life, showing how the deceits of the past can forge the present.

This audiobook includes a reading group guide read by the author.

©2016 Dominic Smith (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

One of the best books of the year

Great story, perfect narrator, beautifully written.

I replayed many passages just to hear the descriptions again.

Hypnotic Story, A must read for anyone who loves art.

A deep dive into, around, and about the past, present and future of a Dutch artist and one of her paintings from the 1600. It’s told through her eyes and those of a modern art forger and museum academic. You also experience it through the eyes of an art collector.
This book flies by quickly as you are pulled into the story like a lucid dream. Atmospheric, interesting, & insightful.
My only qualm is the readers “female Australian accent”was more distracting than helpful. (The story is so good you will overlook the readers portrayal).

Original story, whiney narration

Nice idea, well-executed. Fun to learn so much about the art world both today and centuries ago. Narrator's whiney and sing-songy delivery grated, but eventually I got used to it.

Not Your Typical Forgery Story

Very different from the usual story about the forgery or thief of a famous painting. The author's prose were beautiful and the narrator's voice on the audio edition was perfect. I enjoyed learning about this female Dutch painter from the 17th Century.

cannot recommend enough

This is one of those books that leaves you longing for the characters after it's ended. Not my typical read (I can't even remember how I came across this title) but I'm so glad I did. I'm usually a junkie for investigative journalism or escapist fiction of the whodunnit variety - this book is neither, but damn it's wonderful. Hope you give it a listen.

Where am I now?

I found The Last Painting.... fascinating.
I learned a great deal about many aspects of the world of art, therefore gaining a deep appreciation for Dutch painters, the struggles of women painters, and countless other topics.
I did experience difficulty understanding the performer. His sounds of "sh", "ch", and "st", seemed too loud, while other words were too soft. Thus, I was constantly trying to go back and discover exactly what was said. I would have enjoyed the book much more, if I could have enjoyed the performance.

intimate story. well developed characters the last painting

intricate story and timely travel to pertinent historical characters. Enjoyable read, an a nice travel into the past of Flemish art. Loved it



highly recommend

Profoundly Satisfying

I will read anything about forgeries, so I eagerly downloaded. I found this to be a very satisfying experience, both story and performance. The characters are drawn with detail and particularity. No one is perfect, but everyone is complex and felt true. There may be some implausibilities in the story, especially in the ability of a forgery to go undetected, but I overlooked them with ease. I really enjoyed the imaginings of the artist's life in 17th century Netherlands. And applause to the author for writing a marvelously, believably awkward sexual scene. I will check out Smith's other books.

Hard to get into.

So why did I give it such a high rating?
The novel is excellent.
I didn't quite discover that until I actually read it though.

Listening to this one is a bit of a slog. My mind wandered constantly and I missed many of the subtle points which make this story exceptional. I put it aside several times, actually, thinking I'd return it.

This is a story with a lot of nuance that builds to a quiet explosion at the end. Quite poignant. But it took me several re-listens and ultimately a reading to get there. So I can't recommend the audio format.

Edoardo Ballerini's narration doesn't really do it for me. I've listened to him countless times and appreciate his skill, but the quality of his voice just doesn't please me. I'm sorry Edoardo-- I'm sure you're a likable fellow!

entertaining storyline but...

The Last Painting was a good listen and one I looked forward to hearing. As might be anticipated the storyline is somewhat contrived, but this didn't prevent it from being entertaining. The setting and details interesting. The performance was excellent and overall it was worth a listen.