The Last Painting of Sara de Vos

A Novel

By: Dominic Smith

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

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.

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

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.

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.

Could listen to it again…

Wonderfully written. Draws you in to another time and to the art world. Beautiful and clever story. Well developed characters. I didn’t want it to end.

Found my Prince

As an avid reader and Audible listener, I feel like I have to"kiss a lot of frogs" before I find that special one... I couldn't quit listening to this book! It's been some time since I've been this impressed. The story was captivating and the writing exceptional. I can't wait to tell my friends about it.

Interesting, a bit contrived. Poor narration

For the most part, I enjoyed the story, especially the insights into 17th century Dutch painting & culture, the machinations of the art world & dealers, restoration & forgery. I found the characters engaging, though some were stereotypes, albeit pretty well rendered. The plot line was inventive, jumping back & forth in time, alternating between the experiences of the characters. IMO, the author's intention was to build in some additional suspense that wouldn't have been there in a linear timeline, and more importantly, to create fugue-like counterpoint between the characters lives both present and past that triggers reflection in the reader's mind. At times this felt too contrived. I could see the plot wheels turning to create a specific outcome & some coincidences passed the boundary of acceptable suspension of disbelief. Not a deal breaker, but it sometimes put me into a book critic analytical mode that undercut simple enjoyment of the story.

I found Mr Ballerini's narration distracting to the point of seriously undercutting my enjoyment of the book. While his rendition of character voices in dialogue was good (which is why I gave it more than 1 star), the lilting, breathless narrative persona he often used for the frequent & sometimes lengthy descriptive passages reminded me of an undergraduate reading Robert Frost with an over the top reverential syrupyness that screamed, "this is really art!" at the expense of the true sense of the passage. Too stagey & melodramatic. The story's narrator's POV is omniscient & anonymous, but the same ethereal affectations are used in the descriptive passages for the experiences of all the main characters. A more understated approach that let the words create atmosphere & drama without telegraphing portentous meaning through over acting would have yielded better results.