Product Description

Immortalised in many of his greatest works of portraiture, Hendrickje Stoffels was Rembrandt's common law wife - and it is through her eyes, in this beautifully realised and well-researched novel, that we are plunged into the midst of both a passionate affair and a turbulent era of Dutch history. With writing as careful and subtle as the master's paintings Rembrandt's Whore combines all the qualities of a naturalist tragedy, historical novel and exposition of 17th-century Dutch society. To listen to Hendrickje is to share Rembrandt's life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #476489 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-04
• Original language: French
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
SYLVIE MATTON is the author of a previous novel, L'Econduite (1997). With her husband, the artist and film-maker Charles Matton, she worked for two years on a feature-length film on the life of Rembrandt, which was premiered in Britain in 2001.

Customer Reviews

Overlong, but some evokative and haunting moments.
I ordered this book in the hope that it would be in the same category as Tracy Chevalier's "Girl With a Pear Earing" or "Tulip Fever" by Deborah Moggach. It is the story of Hendrickje Stoffels, Rembrandt's model and lover, her treatment by the society of the time and the financial ruin of Rembrandt which follows.
I'm afraid I was disappointed by this book on two main counts. Try as I may, I didn't find the heroine terribly attractive and by the end of the book I really knew little more about her than at the beginning. Yes - I knew of her passion, almost the pain she feels for Rembrandt,and yes I knew of solidarity and closeness within their household against the hypocrisy and cruelty of Amsterdam society. But for all of that it is hard to know why Rembrandt fell for her in the way he did - presumably for her lack of artiface. However,I'm sorry to say that I found her unconvincing and her personal thoughts and fears laboured. Secondly, I didn't feel that I really got to know Rembrandt or his work through this book. Yes I know more biographical details and did get a feel for life in 17th centrury Amsterdam, but can't honestly say that I have been able to look at the artist's work with fresh eyes. Perhaps I was hoping for too much.
My final comment may seem a little contradictory. I found the historical details, no doubt authentic in themselves, somewhat artifical in their placement in the book. It was almost as if they had been added to give a scholarly gloss.
I found the book overlong and at times repetitive; tighter editing would have let the moments of beauty within the book shine from the darker passages. For all of my criticisms still worthy of a read.

Hard work
I didn't notice when ordering this book that it was a translation from the French. I don't know if it is easier to read in its original version but in English it was hard work.

Writing in the second person always makes a book seem a little arty-farty and the addition of the strange punctuation accentuates this trait. There are a lot of sentences that aren't. Sentences. Really - you know what I. Mean?

The historical content is a bit contrived and the use of footnotes to explain the use of old dutch vocabulary made it feel a bit too much like a history lesson. The language used is not convincingly that of an illiterate girl.

Maybe if you really know your Rembrandt already - and maybe if read in the original French version - but otherwise; no

What a struggle!
It has just taken me 3 weeks to get to the end of this 190 page book. What a struggle!
The overly poetic style, repetitions and jumble of references to the bible, Rembrandt's paintings and the current time, made every paragraph a labour.
It has, however, left me with an interesting view of the 14years Rembrandt spent with Hedrickje Stoffels, his common law wife from 1649, when she arrived at the house as an innocent young girl, his new maid, until 1663, when she died of the plague.
Because of the views of the time, Hendrickje was labelled a whore and the disapproval of Amsterdam society paid a large part in the decline in Rembrandt's fortunes.
Whilst I would not recommend this book, if you are fascinated by Rembrandt and enjoy this poetic style of writing, then it may be worth the effort.