No wonder not only his paintings, but also his drawings were exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. After seeing them, I decided to also illustrate my book with some of his drawings.

“But first, I will tell you about the women in my life—my wife, my mistresses, and Rudolf’s women. I captured many of them for my master in tales of gods fit for emperors and mortals alike. We were often together, the Emperor and I, when we were young and my studio was in the castle. Then, even his Majesty sometimes picked up a brush on a whim, when we lived a life where nothing was real except for the paints and brushes that created an illusionary world around us. Rudolf didn’t care whether Venus or Minerva grew under my brush. He was God, the Lord of the Habsburg Empire over which, in his mind, the sun never set.

Drama and suspense color the plot of My Life with Berti Spranger :

“I didn’t hear her opening the lid of my mother’s piano, but as I approached and watched her from afar, an endearing melody rose in the air, wrapping around me and trapping me inside an image that grew clearer by the minute. Delicate tones with a melancholy edge captured the sensitive spirit of the composer and the performer.

Was it Chopin?

As I walked through four large galleries of a recent, and most amazing, exhibition at the Boston MFA, “Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer,” I couldn’t stop thinking about Pieter, the narrator of my new book. Much drama is caught in the 75 works by Dutch masters, reflecting the life in the prosperous, newly-coined independent Dutch society. Pieter, an affluent Dutch-born art dealer, lives in the heart of Old Amsterdam. When Karo visits him there, she practically inhales the food, anxious to see the house.

One never knows what may happen around the corner. We all know about book signings in book stores, libraries, and other places having to do with books. Mine was a lovely event at Girltauk, a laid-back, hip boutique in the heart of Southampton, with an avant-garde, yet classic touch to the store’s everyday fashion. The store’s carefully designed pieces make every woman look and feel like one of the Hampton’s A-list celebrities.

It was so much fun chatting with the customers, finding out a bit about their interests and enjoying a celebratory glass of wine with lifelong friends! The pie came after a thinly sliced prosciutto on heavenly fresh bread with mozzarella slices on the side.

That day, even the possibility of surprise was not on Pieter’s list! Yet, what he found changed his life. FOREVER.

Floriani Street was empty, void even of cars. It was damn hot. Stores were shut tight, with the chain shutters pulled low during noon break. I wasn’t sure if I was in the same place, not recognizing any of the storefront signs. Stacks of garbage stood piled high in beer boxes in front of one of them. The window looked familiar, as I entered through the half-open door.

Geschlossen! The writing was clear on the sheet of paper taped to the door.

Joachim Wtewael (1566-1638), the subject of the current singular exhibition at the National Gallery in Washington, Pleasure and Piety (June 28-October 24, 2015), is likely Spranger’s most devoted follower, having never abandoned his mannerist roots like some of their younger contemporaries.

A far more accomplished draftsman and painter, some of his miniature paintings on copper would have fit in the palm of a patron, while others would have covered a large wall of a palazzo. Spranger’s Wedding of Cupid and Psyche, engraved by Goltzius, a huge composition with more than one hundred nude gods perched on sausage-like clouds was one of the subjects I identified during my generals at Princeton.