68 pages • 2 hours read
Elise BroachMasterpiece
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Link Between Fortitude and Justice
The virtues fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence take a spotlight throughout the novel, but the two most emphasized are fortitude and justice, which happen to be the names of the two drawings that were stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The relationship between fortitude and justice is presented in Chapter 20, when Christina quotes Plutarch and Denny explains the quote, saying, “If everyone were fair, you wouldn’t need anyone to be brave” (152). The novel supports this concept throughout the story through the staged theft of Fortitude and brave acts of Marvin and James as they work to save the drawing.
Christina tells James and Karl that Dürer’s Justice was stolen from the museum, which is why she believes the staged theft of Fortitude from the same museum will lead to the same underground art collector. The plan to use Marvin’s copy of Fortitude to track down Dürer’s Justice acts as a direct metaphor for how achieving justice requires people to have courage. The success of the plan in recovering all the stolen Virtues also lends credit to the metaphorical philosophy behind it.
James and Marvin demonstrate the virtues by assisting with the forgery and rescue of the drawings. Marvin, who has been warned by his family not to leave the apartment and not to get wound up in human affairs, shows fortitude when he defies Mama and Papa’s rules and goes to the museum with James. Marvin argues that he cannot allow James to go to the museum alone when James cannot make the drawing. Marvin believes that “people like James [aren’t] treated right by the world” (143). Marvin wants to make sure that James gets the attention he deserves, thus he braves defying his parents in pursuit of this justice. Marvin’s fortitude comes up again when he realizes that the Fortitude hanging in the museum is the real Fortitude instead of the fake. With no way to communicate with James, Marvin dives off James’s shoulder, plunging to the carpet of the museum where he is at risk of being spotted or stepped on. Marvin continues to make brave decisions while he follows the drawing through New York City as it’s handed off between the FBI and underground art dealers. Marvin narrowly avoids death in several instances just to stay with the drawing.
Marvin has no plan but knows that he is the only one who can keep track of the real Fortitude. Marvin’s pursuit of the drawing ensures that James has a way to find Dürer’s work when Marvin and James are reunited. James shows the spirit of fortitude by leaving the museum and braving New York City with only Marvin to help him. With Marvin’s guidance, James makes his way to the apartment building and inside the apartment of someone he doesn’t know. He then uses his courage to steal the briefcase and run back to the museum, knowing that Denny might pursue them. Through the courageous efforts of Marvin and James, the stolen drawings, including the long-lost Temperance and Prudence, are returned to the public, to be housed in their rightful museums.
The philosophical idea that justice is achieved through fortitude is supported through tangible representations of resilience, the Virtues drawings, and the brave actions of Marvin and James, leading to justice.
The Way Art Moves People
The way art moves and motivates people is a prevalent theme throughout the novel. This theme is explored through both positive examples, like Marvin and Christina’s admiration for Dürer’s work, as well as through negative examples, like Denny’s willingness to commit theft in the name of art.
The importance of art’s influence is introduced early with Marvin’s admiration for Karl’s Horse painting, showing that Marvin has an interest in art and its deeper messages. Marvin explores this interest for the first time when he is drawn to James’s ink set. Marvin feels compelled by the ink, thinking “It was as if his legs had been waiting all their lives for this ink, this page, this lamp-lit window view. There was no way to describe the feeling. It thrilled Marvin to his very core” (29-30). Marvin is moved by the concept of creating art, finding himself entranced the moment he commits to a drawing. This results in the drawing that propels the plot of the story, bringing Marvin and James to the museum and entangling them in Christina’s staged theft.
Christina and Denny show the way art, specifically Albrecht Dürer’s, moves them in the chapters that take place in Christina’s office, Chapters 10, 14, and 20. Denny shows his intense admiration for Dürer through his understanding of Dürer’s motivations and inspiration, saying “Dürer believed art was a way to find beauty in the most ordinary aspects of life” (72). When the group talks about art theft, Denny says “Stealing art is not like other crimes. Sometimes it’s not for money at all. Sometimes it’s really for the love.” (98). Christina adds that “People have a thing for Dürer” when she talks about the theft of Dürer’s Virtues (102). Christina and Denny, both curators for the drawing departments of their respective museums, are so moved by Dürer’s art they have dedicated their lives to working with drawings from the Old Masters.
Denny’s statement about stealing for the love of art foreshadows Chapters 27 and 28, when Marvin discovers Denny is the one who stole not only Fortitude but all Dürer’s Virtues, intentionally placing the real Fortitude in the museum instead of the forgery. Upon seeing all four Virtues together in his possession, Denny toasts to Albrecht Dürer, stating, “To Virtue […] And to Virtue’s master, the astounding Albrecht Dürer” (209-10). Denny feels so strongly about Dürer that he is moved to want to possess the art for himself. In this same scene, Marvin recalls Denny’s statement about art thieves, “that sometimes, they did it for love” (210), showing that Denny’s intentions are clearly those of someone passionate about art and have nothing to do with the monetary value of the pieces themselves.
The power of art plays a key role in the unfolding of Masterpiece’s plot, moving Marvin to create brilliant drawings and motivating Denny to steal Dürer’s Virtues.
The Importance of Friendship
The friendship between Marvin and James, though unconventional, is at the novel’s heart. It evolves into a deep understanding and is key to solving the art theft.
Marvin and James come from two completely different worlds. With their size difference and Marvin’s inability to communicate verbally, the two are an unlikely pairing. Still, this doesn’t stop Marvin from extending the first gesture of friendship to James by creating the drawing of the scene outside James’s window. Marvin knows James did not enjoy his birthday party and feels bad for him. Marvin decides to create a work of art for James using James’s new pen and ink set. James is amazed by the drawing and thankful to Marvin: “But now, it’s the best gift I ever got. This birthday is the best one ever” (34). Marvin’s gesture of friendship transformed James’s attitude toward the pen and ink set gift as well as his birthday in general.
James returns this gesture of friendship by inviting Marvin along with him to the museum, where James ends up agreeing to create a forgery of Fortitude for the museum to stage a robbery. If James did not understand Marvin’s interest in art, he would have never invited Marvin to see the drawings. James and Marvin build trust in one another during this first visit to the museum, as Marvin must trust James to keep him safe and James must trust Marvin to help produce the Fortitude forgery. This mutual trust deepens as their friendship grows. Marvin and James continue to help each other throughout the novel. For example, James helps Marvin back to the cupboard after their first museum trip. James understands the dangers Marvin faces by navigating the apartment alone and wishes to help Marvin because he cares about him. This gesture from James is important because it helps Marvin and James to develop their unique form of communication, which later aids in their recovery of the stolen drawings.
James and Marvin’s friendship deepens when they have their first disagreement in Chapter 22. James’ mother pressures him into selling the window scene drawing that Marvin gave him. James cannot tell his mom that the drawing isn’t his to sell. Marvin becomes angry with James and expresses this through body language and gestures: “turn[ing] his rear toward James, gather[ing] his legs beneath him, and [sinking] into a small immobile black mound” (167). James understands Marvin is angry, prompting James to open up about his feelings. James tells Marvin that he wishes his mom would be “proud of me for regular reasons” (168). James wonders about his parents’ divorce, asking “But if I was the most important thing, how come I wasn’t important enough for them to stay together” (169). These moments show that James trusts Marvin with his personal feelings, strengthening the bond between them. As a result of this interaction, James trusts Marvin much more deeply, and Marvin knows that James understands him.
The bond Marvin and James create places importance on mutual trust and openness between friends. These qualities are essential to James and Marvin’s communication as they uncover the stolen drawings and return them to the museum. Without James and Marvin’s unconventional friendship, the museum may have lost all the Dürer drawings permanently.
