Judith Leyster (1609-1660) was the first female painter admitted to the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. After her death, her works were attributed to males, and she was essentially lost to the world of art history. A Light of Her Own, the debut novel of Carrie Callaghan, is a vivid fictional account of Judith’s life which brings the artist out of the shadows.
The book is told in dual points of view, switching between Judith, an apprentice in Franz de Grebber’s atelier and his daughter, Maria, another female painter. The two women are close as young teens but grow apart as Judith develops the ambition to open her own studio while Maria is stifled by her Catholic faith and her obsession with her sins. Their friendship and the stresses on it from their divergent drives occupy a large portion of the book. Judith’s ambition was a welcome contrast to Maria’s religious idée fixe, though her point of view did reveal the the lasting effects of the Reformation in which Catholicism was banned and Calvanism became the state religion.
One of the best things about A Light of Her Own is the painterly detail Callaghan paints with her prose. Everything Judith sees is described in terms of color, the quality of the light, or the way her model’s eyes crinkle with his smile. If you’ve seen the paintings of Rembrandt or Hals or Judith’s self-portrait to the left, you know how exacting the paintings of the time were. Callaghan’s precision allows the reader to visualize not only Judith’s paintings but every day life in Haarlem. Moving the plot along was a mystery of involving linseed oil, a key ingredient in the paints each artist manufactured himself. Supplies had dried up, and the price risen to the point that only the most profitable painters could afford it. I particularly liked that Judith stood up to the leaders of the Guild and revealed the truth.
Overall a fascinating story of women painters during the Dutch Golden Age of painting. It’s art history “light”—enough fiction to bring Judith to life without weighing the reader down with too many art historical facts.
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“A Light of Her Own is a beautifully crafted story set in seventeenth-century Holland, in which two women navigate the law, destiny, and their unstoppable ambition … Sensory details evoke the light, the feel, and the smell of the setting … a riveting fictionalized account of Judith Leyster.” ― Foreword Reviews
“Against the backdrop of 1630s Holland, where women have little power and religion is strictly regulated, Callaghan’s debut shines a light on the friendship between two artists … Fans of Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (2000) will enjoy this darker, grittier peek into the history of Dutch art and the struggles of women within that world.” ― Booklist
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