The Painter of Souls

Welcome to Barcelona at the beginning of the 20th century — the heyday of Modernism, a clash of ideologies, a conflict of generations, debates are raging, blood is boiling. A young artist, Dalma Sala, in love with life, painting, and a woman, is torn between true art, which demands complete self-sacrifice, and unnecessary yet convenient crafts for the rich and indifferent, between pleasure and duty, between romance and comfort. Dalma seeks himself and his true path — and together with his beloved, he will walk the terrifying trails amidst the ecstasy and terror of a world on the brink of a new century.

Ildefonso Falcones, a lawyer by profession, a historian by vocation, one of the greatest contemporary Spanish writers, was awarded numerous prestigious prizes for his first novel "Cathedral by the Sea", including Euskadi de Plata (2006, Spain), Que Leer (2007, Spain), and the Giovanni Boccaccio Prize (2007, Italy). Falcones' books have already sold over 10 million copies across several dozen countries. 

"The Painter of Souls" — is his hymn to his native Barcelona, a magnificent saga of people amidst historical events and a chronicle of human passions: love, revenge, loyalty to art and ideals in turbulent times when absolutely everything changes, from politics to morals and aesthetics, history unfolds as a gigantic canvas, passions create a great city, and the city determines human destinies for centuries to come.