Sofie & Cecilia: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
In 1901 Sofie Olsson and her husband Nils, along with their children, travel to visit Lars Vogt and his wife Cecilia. Though Nils and Lars are artist colleagues and friends, Sofie and Cecilia barely know each other. Sofie admires Cecilia, but after sending her a thank you letter for the visit Sofie comes to believe that Cecilia does not want her friendship. |
In 1901 Sofie Olsson and her husband Nils, along with their children, travel to visit Lars Vogt and his wife Cecilia. Though Nils and Lars are artist colleagues and friends, Sofie and Cecilia barely know each other. Sofie admires Cecilia, but after sending her a thank you letter for the visit Sofie comes to believe that Cecilia does not want her friendship. |
||
Sofie was born Sofie Falkner and in 1882 leaves her small village to attend the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts]]. Like the other female students she is segregated from the male students and is not allowed to draw nudes. Sofie and the other female students settle on drawing scenes drawn from their domestic life and while Sofie does not distinguish herself at school she continues to paint after graduation. Post-graduation Sofie meets Nils |
Sofie was born Sofie Falkner and in 1882 leaves her small village to attend the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts]]. Like the other female students she is segregated from the male students and is not allowed to draw nudes. Sofie and the other female students settle on drawing scenes drawn from their domestic life and while Sofie does not distinguish herself at school she continues to paint after graduation. Post-graduation Sofie meets Nils Olsson and while studying in France the two fall in love and decide to marry. Nils has regressive and sexist attitudes towards women painters which Sofie ignores, eventually accepting that she needs to give up drawing and painting once she marries Nils. She settles into domestic life and mostly defers to Nils, channelling her creativity into raising their children and decorating their home. |
||
==Reception== |
==Reception== |
||
Revision as of 16:49, 1 November 2018
Sofie & Cecilia is a historical novel by Canadian author Katherine Ashenburg. The novel drew attention for being Ashenburg's fiction debut published when she was 72.[1] She was inspired to write the book after a visit to Sweden where she learned that despite the fact that they had the same artistic training, Swedish artist Carl Larsson refused to allow his wife Karin to paint after they were married. She initially reached out to her friend, writer Jane Urquhart, hoping she would write about the Larsson's, but Urquhart instead encouraged Ashenburg to write a novel about them herself.[2]
A work of fiction, the titular characters are loosely based on Karin Bergöö Larsson wife of Swedish artist Carl Larsson and Emma Lamm, wife of Swedish artist Anders Zorn.
The novel follows the lives of the two titular characters, Sofie Olsson (based on Karin Bergöö Larsson) and Cecilia Vogt (based on Emma Lamm), Swedish women who are both married to artists, who meet in their 30s and develop a life long friendship.
Plot
In 1901 Sofie Olsson and her husband Nils, along with their children, travel to visit Lars Vogt and his wife Cecilia. Though Nils and Lars are artist colleagues and friends, Sofie and Cecilia barely know each other. Sofie admires Cecilia, but after sending her a thank you letter for the visit Sofie comes to believe that Cecilia does not want her friendship.
Sofie was born Sofie Falkner and in 1882 leaves her small village to attend the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. Like the other female students she is segregated from the male students and is not allowed to draw nudes. Sofie and the other female students settle on drawing scenes drawn from their domestic life and while Sofie does not distinguish herself at school she continues to paint after graduation. Post-graduation Sofie meets Nils Olsson and while studying in France the two fall in love and decide to marry. Nils has regressive and sexist attitudes towards women painters which Sofie ignores, eventually accepting that she needs to give up drawing and painting once she marries Nils. She settles into domestic life and mostly defers to Nils, channelling her creativity into raising their children and decorating their home.
Reception
The novel received positive mixed reviews. Quill & Quire criticized the novel for being "consistently flat, conveying no heights of either personal or artistic passion."[3]
References
- ^ Ashenburg, Katherine. "I published my first novel in my 70s — and I'm in good company". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "How a trip to Sweden inspired long-time nonfiction author Katherine Ashenburg to write her first novel". Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ Maitzen, Rohan. "Sofie & Cecilia". Retrieved 30 October 2018.