I Am Rembrandt's Daughter

One might think a girl fortunate to have a famous artist as a father, but Cornelia van Rijn knows differently. Gone are the days of Rembrandt's wealth and popularity. Nowadays he refuses to adapt his painting style to one that will sell, society still buzzes about his refusal to marry Cornelia's mother, and there are even rumors that he is losing his mind. But Cornelia could accept all of that if only she and her father got along as well as he and her older brother Titus. For Cornelia wants nothing more than to be accepted into Rembrandt's world, to paint and be painted.

Cornelia's story unfolds slowly - as her brother leaves the house to get married, Cornelia is left alone with a father who doesn't seem to notice that she's there. She show more grows increasingly frustrated with his tempestuous outbursts and his refusal to allow her to see the handsome student of a rival painter. I loved how Cornelia's past unfolded in a series of flashbacks linked to several of Rembrandt's famous paintings. These served to whet the reader's interest as well as to ground the story firmly in the realm of art that is so important to the characters.

The most touching scenes revolve around art - Rembrandt painting Titus' eyes on the baby, Cornelia's visceral reaction to seeing her mother in a painting, Cornelia finally modelling for her father. And that's exactly as it should be in a novel about artists; painting holds the key to Cornelia's difficult relationship with her father, Rembrandt's relationship with her mother, and ultimately Cornelia's choice of a suitor. Scenes with art are particularly difficult to pull off in prose, but Cullen succeeds brilliantly. I loved how she evoked all of the senses when describing these scenes - the smell of paint and linseed oil, the feel of the fabric as Cornelia models, the descriptions of shadows and birds on the canals. It's clear to the reader that Cornelia has the eye of an artist because it shines through the prose - not just because the author tells us so.

I loved Rembrandt's irascability - it is this wealth of emotion that draws me to the more Southern Renaissance painters, and it was nice to see a depiction of the Northern Renaissance that wasn't all suppressed/repressed feelings and stilted manners.

I didn't much like Cornelia's insistence on suffering in silence (well without saying anything to her father since she was certainly not silent to the reader). I found the mystery of the gentleman with the golden moustache quite predictable, but well-handled. I especially liked the direction the author took to resolve the issue. It was a good demonstration of Cornelia's growing maturity. The love triangle was a bit slow, a bit dull, and largely unnecessary to my way of thinking (and I LIKE romance angles in my historical fiction). Plus it had a bit of a squick factor - it might have been normal for the time period, but I had issues with her relationship with one of her suitors.

I really liked this novel. I liked the art, the period detail, and the depiction of family relationships. But I could have done without a fourteen-year-old in Luuuurve.

Also posted at my blog show less

Recommended for those who appreciate the art of the Dutch Masters.
Written from the perspective of Cornelia, the illegitimate daughter of Rembrandt van Rijn, this excellent depiction of Rembrandt in his later years is a haunting tale of a man, once at the height of fame, who has lost his sanity, his standing in society and is bankrupt.

Difficult to put down, I found this book fascinatingly filled with wonderful tidbits of accurate facts and marvelous portrayals of real life characters that seem to jump from the pages.

When Cornelia's mother dies of the plague and her beloved half brother marries a wealthy woman, Cornelia is left to watch her father's steady decline.

Using the later works of Rembrandt as a springboard for the storyline, each show more chapter is a delight to read. show less

I thought this book was quite enjoyable. It was super intriguing, and the history in it was fascinating. I simply found that it lacked that spark that makes a book great.
Although I wanted to know what happened, and for the most part it was interesting, at times I found I was a bit bored.

PLOT

The plot in this was really interesting. It was, as the title suggests, about Rembrandt's daughter, and she's been left to take care of her father all on her own.
They're broke, and Rembrandt, once a great painter, is now scorned by society. There's quite a bit going on, and there's some interesting plot twists, that never even crossed my mind.

Mostly though, this book was about the romance. Romances... aren't usually my thing. Not to mention there was show more A LOVE TRIANGLE! Love triangles... also not my thing.

However, the love triangle was actually quite well done.
At first I completely shipped her and Carel... I wasn't too impressed with Neel. As the book went on though, Neel started to grow on me. And Carel... well, he was actually something of a jerk.
It was also one of the few love triangles I've read where I couldn't predict the outcome from the start... at first I really thought she would end up with Carel... he just seemed like he was the obvious winner. Then she didn't. So that was sort of satisfying.

SETTING

This was set in the Netherlands, in the... seventeen hundreds? Maybe? Something like that anyways.
It isn't a place I've read much about, so it was super interesting. I'm glad I read it just for the history alone. It was just fascinating!

The setting felt really real as well. It had obviously been well researched, and it just felt so vivid.
Basically, I was impressed.

CHARACTERS

The characters were... I don't know. I liked them well enough, but none of them felt particularly well developed. I already addressed her love interests in the spoiler tag, and there really isn't anything else I feel I can say without spoilers, so I'm just going to completely not address them here. Other than that though...

-Cornelia... she was... I don't know. I had moments where I really liked her, but she wasn't very well developed, and felt like cardboard a lot of the time.

-Rembrandt was probably the best developed character. He actually had a really rich character, and although he wasn't very nice, I liked reading about him, because... he NEVER felt like cardboard.

-Titus was sort of half developed... he was a fairly small character, and he was okay-ly (Tis is definitely a word... Don't question me on this...) developed for the amount he was in it, but I would have loved if he was a bit more developed.

There was couple other characters I could address, but I think the risk of spoilers is just too big, and they don't seem important enough to bother with spoiler tags, so...

OVER ALL

I enjoyed this book well enough, the history was really interesting, and I think it was definitely worth reading. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone, but I think it's worth a read if it's your sort of thing. show less

Cornelia van Rijn's is the illegitimate daughter of the famed painter Rembrandt. Her life is not an easy one - her father claims to hear the voice of God, her mother dies of the plague and the family is so poor Cornelia must work like a common kitchen maid in her own home rather than lead the social life of a lady entitled to her father's respected position. Cullen's writing is historically accurate - Rembrandt's fall from society's graces due to an affair with a maid, his "rough" painting techniques, even the story's characters are real documented people - yet the book doesn't read like a dry history novel. Instead, Cullen cleverly uses this rich history as a backdrop for a love story crafted from her own imagination. Rich in show more historical detail, yet simple enough to still be enjoyable, I Am Rembrandt's Daughter is built on a solid foundation of historical facts and real people, resulting in a love story that "might have been". (Ages 13 & up) show less

Cornelia van Rijn’s mother has died of the Plague. As the daughter of the famous Rembrandt, one would expect to be living the life of a wealthy and prestigious young woman. This is not the life Cornelia has been given. Rembrandt is going mad and refuses to paint what will please the wealthy patrons. The budding friendship with the well-to-do and handsome Carel begins to stir passion in Cornelia’s heart. But the Westerkerk bells that toll death begin to ring again—and family secrets best kept hidden may come to light.

I enjoyed this book especially since I've been to Amsterdam and seen the Rembrandt House. I couldn't get in since the line was so long, but saw many of his paintings at the Rijkmuseum. Cornelia, is the daughter of the elderly Rembrandt and his common-law wife. Because they are not married, she is scorned by most. On top of that, Rembrandt is no longer the darling of Dutch painters. He's irascible and paints what he wants, the way he wants. Because he is not selling many paintings, they are poor and Cornelia suffers for lack of nice clothes and sufficient food. Rembrandt believes he is guided by God and though Cornelia thinks him mad, she loves his work, except one she finds of her mother in the attic. There is also a romance as Cornelia show more meets a young apprentice to Rembrandt's rival, who is the son of a wealthy shipping merchant.

The historical details of the time are convincingly drawn from the bells tolling for plague victims, to slop buckets being thrown into the canals and ladies clutching pomanders in their hands attempting to ward off the plague.

I would have liked a pronunciation guide as Dutch words are difficult to pronounce. I would also have liked web links for those paintings listed at the end under Notable Art Works. The author's note and character list at the end were very helpfult, though sad to see how short these characters, most of whom were based on real people, were. show less

This story read like a Jane Austen novel. The characters were well drawn and Cornelia’s gradual maturity and increasing knowledge of her past will keep readers’ interest. The flashbacks, designated by italics, are an effective way to fill in the background. The author’s note explains the blend of history and fiction in this book, including what is known about the people on whom the story is based.