The Colour Storm: The compelling and spellbinding story of art and betrayal in Renaissance Venice

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This summary is what pulled me into the book. I have no read many fiction books set during the Renaissance and certainly none set in the art world. I thought that these things would make this book a great fit for me. However, it wasn’t. I had a really difficult time forming any kind of connection with both the plot and the characters. I felt a times that the plot wasn’t fleshed out as well as it should have been. There were times that it felt bulky and other times were the flow was great. This unevenness pulled me out of the story. It also made for a difficult read at times. I thought that there were many times were the plot did not feel like it was moving as it should. I would have liked to have a little bit more depth as well. The story reads like a film and the Dibben has given special attention to his exploration of “colour’s hidden dimensions and how everything is constantly at play in the mind’s eye.” Immense detail is given in describing the character’s clothing and each scene is connected with a reflection of the colour in the merchant’s wife’s clothing. Jane Rankin-Reid: Everyone of your characters’ outfits are described in beautifully observed colours. From Sybille Fugger’s creamy white satins, to the particularly rich crimson shade of her cloak. So too the surfaces of the paintings you’ve detailed. What has cultivated this acute scrutiny in you as a writer? Atmospheric and suspenseful, and filled with the famous artists of the era, The Colour Storm is an intoxicating story of art and ambition, love and obsession.

The writing itself is romantic. It’s a love letter to colours, and I’ve never come across such brilliant descriptions before. It is a feat by the author, truly. Dibben is to storytelling what Zorzo is to painting: a reinforcer of images that are so potent it feels like the viewer is entering another world. Discover the 2023 Winner of the Historical Writers' Association Gold Crown Award – an atmospheric and suspenseful tale of intoxicating art and dizzying ambition, forbidden love and twisted obsession in Renaissance Venice – Damian Dibben's kaleidescopic The Colour Storm Art and ambition, love and obsession all come into play in this compelling and spellbinding tale set in Renaissance Venice' the impact matrix – showing the combination of the level of impact forecast and the likelihood of those impacts occurring. Winning a commission to paint a portrait of the man’s wife, Sybille, Zorzo thinks he has found a way into the merchant’s favor. Instead he finds himself caught up in a conspiracy that stretches across Europe and a marriage coming apart inside one of the floating city’s most illustrious palazzi.

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Another thing that I want to mention is how surprised I was by some of the plot twists of the story. Some of them had me reeling, they were so unexpected. But I do love being surprised by stories! Also need to shout out the character of Leda. Another surprise because I hadn't expected to end up loving her as much when I first met her in the book but she was incredible. A self-made woman in 16th century Italy with her own growing business, how could I not admire and love that. When painters were so charged with purpose, so voracious, so rebellious against everything that had gone before, that they described the age as a colour storm.’When one of my favourite authors, Stephanie Storey, gushed about this novel, I knew I had to read it ASAP. It featured one of my favourite cities and historical periods, focused on art, was extremely well written and re-ignited my passion for historical fiction. Dibben expertly explores art, ambition, love and obsession during the Renaissance. I loved Leda’s wisdom about the importance of the marks we leave behind and could understand clearly the author’s purpose in sharing Giorgione’s drive to make a mark upon history. I’m still reflecting on the paradox the characters highlighted - that they were able to buy anything except a guarantee of life. As the plague reached Venice, this became a reality for the wealthy. In weak parallel, the last few years have taught us that our recent ‘plague’, too, is no respecter of persons nor health status. An intoxicating and illuminating tale, bathed in colour, passion and ambition . . . A must for lovers of Renaissance art and the wonders of sixteenth century Venice S. W. Perry