The Color Storm by Damian Dibben

 

It is the early 1500's in Venice, Italy, the beginning of the Renaissance.  It is a great time to be an artist although with masters such as Titian, da Vinci Michelangelo, Bosch  and Raphael, it is a very competitive time.  Zorzo Barbarelli, 33, also known as Giorgione runs a studio but times are hard.  He needs more commissions and he hears about a huge one about to be given out.

A German banker, Alfred Fugger, rumored to be the richest man in Europe, has come to Venice with his beautiful wife, Sybille.  He is the one who will pay for the huge commission and he also own mines where artists' colors start as minerals.  It's rumored that he has a new mineral that creates a color never seen.  Zorzo hopes to be in the running for the commission or at least for a lesser one and he dreams of gaining the new color.

He meets Sybille and gets a commission to paint her portrait.  Soon he begins an affair with her although he knows that it will be certain death if Fugger discovers it.  Sybille fills his head with stories of Fugger's cruelty to her and soon a plot is hatched.  What will happen next?

Damien Dibble is a British author and screenwriter.  He is familiar with the artistic scene and the book is well researched.  The reader will find it interesting to read about all the great artists that were working at once and art studios are run.  The plot of Zorzo's romance provides the drama with all the art history in the background.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.