THE PAINTER, inspired by the life of an Italian artist who emigrated to America after World War II, plunges the reader into the life of fictional Lorenzo Frasca, his life of daring achievement, grinding employment, moral struggle with the cruel insanity of his young wife, tender attachment to her fragile daughter, his transcendent love of an older woman, and his ultimate creation of a masterpiece for a Spanish prince who becomes his patron. American and European cultures nourish his maturation. The artist's history is told to and through Luke Cosic, a chance dinner companion who is subsumed by the painter and his art. The fifteenth century classic, Cennino d'Andrea Cennini's 'Il Libro dell'Arte'', (The Craftsman's Handbook), is the foundation of Lorenzo's character and work.