The Optickal Illusion

May 15, 2018

In the Georgian art world, where one's livelihood is based on reputation, technique is a jealously guarded secret, and rivalries are intense. For Anglo-American artist Benjamin West, second president of the still-young Royal Academy, and victim of his own waning genius, the promise of a long-lost formula for Titian's famous coloring proves irresistible. That this formula is offered by a talented painter who is also a clever and charming young lady tantalizes Ben into sacrificing good sense and integrity, embroiling him and the academy in a scandal that threatens their undoing. At the center, the mysterious Jemima Provis and her father play a dangerous game among shifting loyalties and limitless ambitions. A mystery within only adds to the intrigue as a bold and determined woman struggles to forge her identity in a world where women figure only in the background of events. VERDICT Halliburton's debut is a vibrant portrait of an age of political and artistic revolution as well as a gripping story, slowed only at the outset by the introduction of an enormous cast of characters who later lend color to the narrative. For fans of 18th-century historical fiction.--Cynthia Johnson, formerly with Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 11, 2018
Halliburton’s intriguing but patchy debut, based on an episode from the London art world in the 1790s, concerns the mysterious provenance of a Renaissance manuscript and of the young lady peddling it. Ann Jemima possesses a document outlining a technique supposedly employed by Titian, a “knowledge of the science of colour that many thought had been lost to history.” She offers to sell the manuscript to Benjamin West, an expatriate American painter. He’s trying to maintain his tenuous hold on the presidency of the Royal Academy, “a crocodile pit full of opportunists” whose members are always seeking an edge over their fellow artists. Ann is a talented painter in her own right and uses her prowess to demonstrate the technique, first to West and then, after a disagreement over remuneration, to his Royal Academy rivals. Halliburton adroitly satirizes the political machinations of Georgian London and explores issues of authenticity and originality as they relate to artistic creation. The novel teems with historical characters, and occasionally the narrative meanders as a result. There is a tendency to have characters rather stiffly convey political and cultural information, as if they were docents rather than living, breathing figures. Nonetheless, the novel’s expansive, colorful canvas contains many delights, particularly for those interested in art history and theory.