The Night Portrait: A Novel of World War II and da Vinci's Italy

Post contains affiliate links; read my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Renaissance Italy: Leonardo da Vinci is chafing under the constraints of his patrons, who want far simpler creations than his wonderful mind can dream. Cecilia Gallerani is brought to Milan to join a nunnery after her brothers squander her dowry, but she longs to be a great lady and becomes the Duke of Milan's mistress instead. She crosses paths with da Vinci when he is hired to paint her portrait.

WWII era: At the beginning of the war, Edith is a German art conservationist who is sent to Poland to catalog artwork left behind by Polish families fleeing the war for the Reich. Among the works she discovers is da Vinci's painting of Cecilia. Towards the end of the war, Dominic Bonelli is an Italian-American soldier who is recruited as security for the group known as the Monuments Men. Their mission is to recover stolen artwork and return it to its rightful owners.

You can certainly tell by reading this novel that Morelli has her doctorate in art history -- the paintings and other pieces are beautifully described and the history of the Renaissance era is wonderfully painted.

Going inside Leonardo da Vinci's head is intriguing because he is a man of so many talents. I was not aware of the broad extent of his inventions and fields of study. Cecilia's story is sadder, as many poor, unmarried women's stories in the 1500s were. Her only friends in the household are da Vinci and another older man who writes poems and song lyrics for her to perform. She is a talented young lady, and could have made something of herself if she were born a couple hundred years later. Still, she is the subject of a da Vinci portrait so she will live on forever. I guess she gets the last laugh after all!

Edith is an interesting character. Although she is tasked by Hitler's cronies to steal the art of the people Germany is bulldozing, she feels morally obligated to keep track of who the items belong to in hopes that one day they can be returned. Her experience in art conservation makes her appreciate the works and her trained eye can repair them as needed in Poland.

Dominic is an artist himself, although he draws as a hobby with no formal training. He misses his family greatly and wishes the war would end so he can return to them. At first, he is thrilled to be a part of the expedition to find hidden caches of art in Germany, hoping to see a da Vinci in person one day. He struggles with his role in the war, wondering if his job is contributing enough compared to those on the front lines.

Dominic's storyline also has the best side character in the whole novel -- a vicar named Stephany the troops pick up in a bombed church. The old man comes with them, determined to find the church's lost relics of Charlemagne. He provides wisdom and a little comic relief to an otherwise sad, serious time period.

The chapters for this book are short, which makes the reading go quickly. The plot never gets boring, as there's always a new character's point of view a few pages ahead. The WWII timeline becomes more interesting the further the book progresses, but the Renaissance timeline slows down after the portrait is completed.

Recommended for historical fiction readers, especially those who love fine art. The split between WWII and Renaissance Italy makes this a good title for WWII fiction lovers to try a historical novel about an unfamiliar era.

Laura Morelli has her Ph.D. in art history from Yale and teaches the subject online. She writes Italian shopping guides and historical fiction.

As a fun bonus, Laura Morelli's website has a free short story you can download about the Black Plague.

Publisher: Berkley

Length: 496 pages

Release Date: September 8, 2020

You may also enjoy:

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.