Hello “Bookclub”!
Photos to enhance your reading of
“The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery”
by Jennifer S. Alderson
Here are some current photos of places in Amsterdam that are referred to in our bookclub book. I will try to add more as time allows. But please be patient as I have some entertaining of a certain active and curious visitor to do over the next week! Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Zelda interviews for an unpaid internship at the Amsterdam Museum. The Amsterdam Museum is described like this:
“Four galleries, each a city block long, were built around an open courtyard, connecting at the corners to form a large square.”
This is the courtyard of the Amsterdam Museum, a museum about the history of Amsterdam.
Chapter 6
In this Chapter called “Flying Drones across the Museumplein”, the author refers to the “patchy brown lawn covering most of the Museumplein”.
As you can see from this photo taken in late September, the lawn is not always patchy. And as long as it is not too cold or wet, there are often many people relaxing there, just as Zelda and Friedrich do.
Chapter 6
“Since she moved to Amsterdam, this unattractive field of grass had become one of her favorite haunts. Not because of the square itself, but three of its more famous residents.” (The Van Gogh Museum, The Stedelijk Museum and the Rijksmuseum)
A view of the Museumplein out a window of the Stedelijk Museum
Chapter 6
Zelda’s feelings about the Rijksmuseum:
“The massive structure always conjured up visions of Camelot in her mind. It looked like a castle on steroids with its eight medieval towers jutting up above the skyline. Stone statues of knightly looking artists, brightly colored coats of arms, and story-high tile tableaus were woven into the extensive facade. “
A view of the Rijksmuseum from its gorgeous garden
Chapter 6
The author refers to some of the treasures of the Rijksmuseum: “It even had seventeenth- century dollhouses on display.”
This is a room of the dollhouse of Petronella Oortman (c. 1686) who was married to the Amsterdam merchant Johannes Brandt. A work of fiction (novel and TV miniseries) called “The Miniaturist” written by Jessie Burton is based on this very dollhouse. Hannah if you come visit us here, I will certainly take you to see the dollhouses at the Rijks!
Chapter 6
“Most of its visitors, though, came to admire some fo the best Rembrandts and Vermeers in existence.”
The reason why I am NOT admiring this particular Rembrandt self-portrait is because a copy of it hung in a hallway of our Wyncote house growing up- directly outside my bedroom door! It scared me to point of regular nightmares!
Chapter 6
The famous Vermeer painting “The Milkmaid” (c. 1660) hangs in the Rijksmuseum. I stared at it for a very long time and took in all the amazing details, such as nail holes in the walls and the stitching of her blouse.
Chapter 10
Bernice: “Does F. Halsst 14 mean anything to you?”
Rita: “Why sure, that was the address of our house, Frans Halsstraat 14.”
Today Rich and I went to look for the house at Frans Halsstraat 14. There is indeed a house at that address , but it is not a very impressive one since it’s been modernized. It is a gorgeous little street though whose name pays tribute to the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals.
Chapter 21
Zelda goes to the Amsterdam City Archives: “The massive, block-long building on the Vijzelstraat, easily recognizable by the dizzying red and gray patterns woven into the ten-story-tall brick and granite facade, was so imposing she was almost afraid to enter.”
This building is just a couple of blocks from where we live. Vijzelstraat is the name of the metro stop near our house, which Aud is quite familiar with now.
Chapter 26
Zelda and Friedrich meet up in Vondelpark. “He’d already set himself up towards the back of a small open field, his backpack resting against Pablo Picasso’s Figure découpée l’Oiseau. To Zelda, the six-foot-tall concrete statue — donated to the city by the great artist himself in 1965– looked like a large bird about to land on the same grass she was now sitting on .”
Vondelpark is a favorite spot of ours to hang, read, jog and bike ride through.
Chapter 27
Zelda decides to spy on Karen O’Neil in her room at the Amstel Hotel. “The massive 19th century building stretched an entire city block along the edge of the river from which it took its name.”
This building is also very close to where we live (it’s a relatively small city).
Chapter 28
We flashback to May, 1942 when Arjan is approached by his blackmailer in his gallery on Spiegelgracht. He reminisces how lively the area was before Nazi occupation. “Before the war , those more subtle noises had been drowned out by the many cars, bicycles, and pedestrians jostling for position on the narrow street.”
During Audrey’s visit last week we wandered up and down the Spiegelgracht and nearby Nieuwe Spiegelstraat a few times to get the feel of the area. It is still filled with small art galleries.
