Attribution
Ratings1
Average rating4
Art historian Cate Adamson, desperate to succeed to console her grieving parents, leaves the Midwest to complete her doctorate in New York—only to find herself assigned to an impossible sexist advisor. She struggles to impress him until she discovers a hidden painting, possibly a Baroque masterpiece. Risking her career, financial disaster, and further alienation from her family, she flees to Spain with the painting to consult art experts. Antonio, an impoverished duke, meets Cate on the train to Seville, and joins her search while attempting to rescue the decaying legacy of his family. They find clues and uncover evidence that will shock the titans of art history, may destroy her prospects as an art historian, and shatter her future with Antonio. Written with vivid prose, rich references to seventeenth century Spanish art, compelling characters and a historical puzzle, Attribution is the story of one contemporary woman’s journey to understand the past and unlock her future.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Mystery novel following Cate, an inspiring but troubled art historian, discovers an old painting in the attic of her university. Desperate to earn her advisor's respect, she is confronted by his misogyny and condescension. Cate flees to Spain, in hopes to discover who made the painting she found and save her career.
Having studied art history myself like the author, this book really interested me for the plot and the themes discussed. The author did a great job showing the scientific work done by art historians, the research, the comparative studies, the laboratory analysis. She also shows the more negative aspects of that field like the misogyny, the struggles faced by museums and art historians, the lack of women artists in ancient times and their erasures in the study of art history. However, the parts of the book not related to the art history mystery mostly felt clunky and simplistic, like the main romantic relationship that I did not really care for. This is a nice debut novel and I really liked the ending.
