He mixes pink on his palette – ochre, grey and carmine – and strokes the paint lovingly on the canvas. “Jacob van Loos is not painting the old man’s mouth. It is the sort of novel which seems simple but has hidden depths. The plot moves quickly, things are hinted at and passed over but relevant later. The deft switching of viewpoints – and each chapter is a single voice, Sophia, Cornelis, Jan, Maria and Willem – allows for a new take on each situation. It is a decision which changes their lives. Sophia’s husband Cornelis is rich, thanks to tulips, and he celebrates his wealth by commissioning a joint portrait to be painted. This is the setting for Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach, when Rembrandt and Vermeer painted some of the most-recognised art of our time. Amsterdam in the 17 th century was a time when commerce was king and the sale of tulip bulbs made some people very rich and others bankrupt.
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