The Titian Committee

Protagonist(s): Art dealer Jonathan Argyll and Flavia de Stefano of the Italian National Art Theft Squad
Setting: present-day Venice, Italy
Series: #2

First Line: "The initial discovery was made by the gardener of the Giardinetti Reali, an old and stooped figure whose labours generally pass unnoticed by the millions of tourists who come to Venice every year,even by those who eat their sandwiches amidst his creation as they get their breath back from overdosing on architectural splendour."

In selecting long-time members of the TBR shelves, I found myself immediately hooked by this second in the Art History mystery series by Iain Pears. Not only do you get an excellent idea of the shenanigans in the art world, you get a wry and witty picture show more of modern Italy and its police force. The story opens with the murder of American art historian Louise Masterson, a member of the scholarly international Titian Committee. She is found stabbed to death in a bed of lilies at the Giardinetti Reali. Then another Titian Committee member drowns in a canal, and the first head of the Committee is found suffocated in his home in France. Flavia de Stefano of the Italian Art Theft Squad is sent to lend a hand in the investigation and soon finds herself working once again with art dealer Jonathan Argyll.

These books are so interesting in their details of life in Italy and of art that that would be the selling point for me--but there's more. Not only is Pears an artist at painting the scene, he's a master at peopling that scene with brilliant characters and witty dialogue. Sometimes I wonder why on earth a book has set so long on the TBR shelves. This is one of those times. show less

Flavia di Sefano is dispatched to Venice after a member of the Titian Committee, charged with authenticating work by that famous Renaissance painter, is found stabbed to death in a public garden. Although she is not exactly a police officer, as a member of Rome’s Art Theft Squad she is told to offer assistance to the local police with respect to any art-related aspects of the case, an offer the local officer in charge of the matter truly despises. Meanwhile, art historian and sometime dealer Jonathan Argyll is in Venice in the process of finalizing the buying of some minor artwork from an elderly aristocrat, although he is constantly being stymied by an officious companion to the old lady. When a second art committee member dies and show more the art collection Jonathan is after disappears, the two must team up again to try to solve the mystery amidst the byzantine machinations thrown up by every aspect of Venice herself…. This is the second book in Iain Pears’ 1990s series and like its predecessor The Raphael Affair it is replete with details of the world of fine art and collectibles, along with sharp observations about Italian, and in this particular case Venice especially, society. Because Mr. Pears himself is an art historian, the methods of detection and other problems of art are completely believable, and his journalist past renders his observations of society both accurate and, occasionally, hilarious; recommended! show less

I enjoyed the second in the Art History Mysteries, mostly because Argyll and Flavia get to wander around Venice while investigating missing artwork, and suspicious murders. The murders involve members of the Titian Committee, a group of experts who must evaluate Titian's paintings for authenticity, provenance, etc. and who portray in minuscule the in-fighting, jealousies, and resentments of many academic committees world-wide. Not a deep read, or even engrossing, by any means, but engaging never-the-less.

A woman is found face down in a flower bed by the gardener of the Giardinetti Reali in Venice. Bad enough the gardener was to supply flowers for the city banquet that night, from the flower bed. Worse that it was a foreigner. But when it turns out to be a member of the Titian Committee, an organization funded by the Italian Arts Ministry and is to study and catalogue all works produced by Tiziano Vecelli (1486 – 1576); then the Italian National Art Theft Squad, in Rome, is called in.

Flavia de Stefano is assigned the case. Off to Venice she is sent — with an expense account. It should be a fairly simple case…but it’s not.

Excessive quarrelling among the committee members makes for many suspects. The clues seem to be a rats’ nest show more with no obvious links. And each time Flavia thinks she’s close, another member is murdered! Oh, there’s also the matter of a missing portrait.

To assist, Flavia calls in Jonathan Argyll, a noted art historian she has worked with in the past. Hmmm….interesting guy…

The characters are fun, the pace good and I enjoyed the humour running thorough the book. show less

Rating: Enjoyable and fun

I really enjoy Iain Pears, how he writes, what he writes. His titular hero Jonathan Argyll is a slightly distractible, mild art historian who tends to lose the thread periodically, not to mention manage to fall into a lagoon. The heroine of the series, Flavia, is a lovely Italian woman who is far more focused and determined to solve art related crimes, and who rather intimidates Jonathan who clearly doesn't see himself in her class. So they are friends, and part-time colleagues. And her boss is a hoot.

The mysteries themselves generally ramble, much like Jonathan, but the hints are there if you can pick them out from the distractions a bit quicker than can Jonathan.

While this is the third Iain Pears novel I have read it is my first Johnathan Argyll Art Mystery. Had this been my first experience of Iain Pears’ work I may not have read as many as three. This book is a light whodunit set mostly in Venice with excursions to a few other parts, including Padua and southern France. The structure is very much of its ilk, even including a scene where all the suspects are gathered into the same location for the “detectives” to unveil their discoveries and reveal the guilty parties.

I am glad to see that Pears’ writing improved over the years. The Titian Committee was one of his first books and the other Pears’ books I have read were produced some ten years later. These were [An Instance of the show more Finger Post] and [Stone’s Fall], both excellent books, intricately plotted and very informative.

The Titian Committee on the other hand is a much simpler tale, lacks the maturity of the writing in his later books, and seems to be internally inconsistent with respect to some of the personality attributes of central characters. It does, however, include interesting material about art work and, in particular, the life of Titian.

I will read more Iain Pears, but I will expect less of his Johathan Argyll art mysteries, apart from informative details on art. show less

In The Titian Committee, the junior, female member of a group of art historians is found murdered in a Venice botanical garden. Local police suspect that it’s a mugging gone wrong – but when Flavia makes an appearance on the scene, she suspects a more malicious intent. Soon, interviews with the surviving members of the committee reveal a web of personal rivalries, dislikes, and unethical doings. And when the surviving members become not-all-still-surviving, it becomes clear that at least one murderer is at work. Jonathan Argyll, coincidentally, travels to Venice to pick up a group of unimportant paintings from an elderly Marchesa… and discovers that some unguessed connections between these minor works and the great Titian may show more exist – and may have gotten someone killed. show less