The Painted Girls

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this fictional account of the van Gonthem sisters, who were dancers and models for Degas. Degas was a realist painter capturing ballet dancers in their "natural" environment, instead of air brushed and ideal. (Although like reality tv, it was often arranged and modeled to look spontaneous). Degas tells stories with his pictures, and Buchanan does a lovely job imagining the lives of the dancers behind the images. Having not read a synopsis beforehand, I was delighted to realize these girls actually existed. Not a lot of details of their lives are available, but I am more than willing to believe the story Buchanan imagined. It is a story of power, and how to pull yourself out of the powerlessness of poverty without giving away everything. It is also the story of the special bond of sisters. There is also the exploration of the theories of that day of whether you are born to a destiny (evidenced by the shape of your face) or whether you really have a choice.

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