In 1350, when Europe is still recovering from the Black Death, the future Pope Gregory XI visits the Tuscan painter Adriano de Robertis to destroy his latest work, the blasphemous Bearded Virgin. On the 25th February 1970, the North American painter Mark Rothko slits his wrists in his New York studio. The 11th September 2001, the Russian painter Vsévolod Semiasin writes a letter in which he reveals the causes of his madness. The story of these three masters revolves around a mystery – the unknown fate of Bearded Virgin by Adriano de Robertis – and a central idea – the commitment of the artist to his art in the face of persecution.
A surprisingly original novel by one of the most highly regarded contemporary Spanish writers.
After the trilogy formed by La ofensa, Derrumbe and El corrector, Ricardo Menéndez Salmón returns with an audacious text that can be read as a book about apprenticeship, artistic genius or a mystery novel.
“Menéndez Salmón is an extremely cultured man possessed of his own expressionist, powerful style.” RAFAEL CONTE, Babelia, El País
“One of the authors whom both critics and readers keep tabs on.” MANUEL DE LA FUENTE, ABC
Wereldbibliotheek (The Netherlands).
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