The Vanishing Point

In lush, glowing prose, Louise Hawes’s historical novel draws readers into the life and art of sixteenth-century Bologna with a compelling account of Lavinia Fontana, arguably the most famous female painter of the Italian Renaissance. Here readers will find a coming-of-age story filled with quest, complication, and catastrophe as well as miracles and hope. Although the novel is set four hundred years ago, the hard choices it involves speak to all times, all places, and are sure to tap into readers’ own conflicts between head and heart, real life and dreams.

But in a world where art is for men, what must a girl sacrifice to follow her dreams?
Based on a True Story: Inspired by the life of Lavinia Fontana, who defied convention to become one of the most celebrated female painters of the Italian Renaissance.A Forbidden Ambition: Young Vini dreams of working in her father’s all-male painting studio in sixteenth-century Bologna, a world strictly forbidden to women.A Father-Daughter Story: Vini must win the approval of her father, the respected artist Prospero Fontana, who sees her future in marriage, not in his workshop.Rich Historical Detail: Step into the vibrant world of Renaissance Italy, from the bustling artists’ workshops and puppet shows of Bologna to the high-stakes politics of the era.