The Artist, by Lucy Steeds
'The Artist' is a book about invisible labour. In a painting of a feast, who laid the table? Who chose the food, bought it, cooked it, served it? Who set up the canvas, provided the paint, cleaned the brushes? The answer is often a woman - and when the finished painting is hanging in a gallery, she rarely gets her name on the plaque. In this book, that woman is Ettie. She is the invisible assistant to her uncle, the great painter Edouard Tartuffe. Every day she slips through the shadows, purchasing, procuring, arranging, engineering: she makes her uncle's masterpieces possible. Ettie goes unnoticed, uncredited, unknown. But she is ready to be seen.
Provence, 1920. When aspiring journalist Joseph is invited to the remote farmhouse home of the great Edouard Tartuffe, it's an opportunity he cannot decline. The painter is an enigma, a recluse, a hallowed genius - no one has ever interviewed him, but everyone wants to know the secret to his mastery. If Joseph can crack him, it could make his writing career. But when the young interviewer arrives in the farmhouse, fresh from London and eager to unspool the mysteries of the artist, he quickly discovers it isn't Tartuffe who captivates him. It's Ettie.
Yes, this book is in large part a romance. And it was absolutely beautiful: Ettie lives a secret life, confined to the orbit of her uncle, craving connection beyond her passing interactions with fruit-sellers, longing to be properly looked at. When Joseph arrives, he is the first person to cross their threshold in years - and he sees her. To him, Ettie is a beautiful, soulful, talented young woman, and in many ways a kindred spirit. Both have been immeasurably affected by the War, Ettie witnessing horrors as a voluntary nurse, Joseph shamed for his conscientious objection, and haunted by the loss of his brother to shell shock.
Their story unfurls through alternating chapters, each in turn realising the profoundness of their care for the other. It's a slow-burning, sensuous and wonderfully heartfelt relationship - but it's also clandestine. Tata, as they refer to him, must not discover what is burgeoning between his assistant and the visiting writer, or he might send Joseph away. He doesn't want anything to distract Ettie from her service; he must keep her where he can see her. Truth be told, Tata would be lost without her. The longer we spend in the farmhouse, the clearer we see that Tata's grip on Ettie is like a vice: she is not only effaced by his male genius but chained to it. Her role is to administrate his success, and she is not allowed to leave. Tata owns her.
The entrapment of Ettie by her controlling uncle is tragic - and even more so when we discover that she is herself a fantastically talented artist. Her paintings are boldly experimental, full of feeling and texture and light, but they have been harshly rejected by the dealers - not because of their quality, but because she is a woman. A woman cannot be an artist. That is a man's honour. Of course, we are outraged by the barriers Ettie faces, by her confinement to the shadows and the crushing of her talent. But this repression has been the reality for so many women, and Steeds exposes it. She also forces us to examine our own biases. Do we judge art according to who painted it? Does a painting's value come from the name on the plaque?
Both Ettie and Joseph long to express themselves in this novel, to break free from the expectations and the silencing and the fear of judgement and the artist's block, and to create art. Ettie paints, Joseph writes, and the two of them love one another fiercely: Steeds has created an inspiring, empowering and moving story of rebellious freedom. What made it even more compelling was its gorgeous prose: 'The Artist' is one of the most beautifully written novels I've read in recent times. Steeds' language is a feast for the senses, vivid and rich and brimming with smells, textures and flavours. Her metaphors were captivating, her rhythm lyrical, and the overall effect absolutely luscious.
To conclude, 'The Artist' was a delightful, sensual, completely gripping novel about love, expression, women's art and the power of being noticed. I predicted the twist early on, which was a small shame, but even though I had guessed Steeds' secret I was utterly transfixed by this beautiful book.
You can buy 'The Artist' from Waterstones by following this link (I'll receive a small commission if you do):
The Artist, Lucy Steeds - Waterstones
