Sign-In
Cart
The Unknown Masterpiece
Hardcover
Publisher: Indoeuropeanpublishing.com
Published: Mar 1 2024
Pages: 168
Weight: 0.83
Height: 0.56 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu (English: The Unknown Masterpiece) is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was first published in the newspaper L'Artiste with the title Maître Frenhofer (English: Master Frenhofer) in August 1831. It appeared again later in the same year under the title Catherine Lescault, conte fantastique. It was published in Balzac's Études philosophiques in 1837 and was integrated into La Comédie humaine in 1846. The work is separated into two chapters: Gillette and Catherine Lescault.
Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu is a reflection on art, and has had an important influence on modernist artists.
Unlike most other stories in La Comédie humaine, this is set in the 17th century, in the year 1612. Of the three artists depicted in this story, Poussin and Porbus were real artists of the 17th century. Frenhofer is a purely fictional character. In the case of Porbus, Balzac used the gallicized version of the surname of Frans Pourbus.
Paul Cézanne strongly identified with Frenhofer, once saying Frenhofer, c'est moi (I am Frenhofer). Critic Jon Kear argues that Cézanne's own attempts to paint the nude were heavily influenced by Balzac's portrayal of Frenhofer's work.
In 1927, Ambroise Vollard asked Picasso to illustrate Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu. Picasso was fascinated by the text and identified with Frenhofer so much that he moved to the rue des Grands-Augustins in Paris where Balzac located Porbus' studio. There he painted his own masterpiece, Guernica. Picasso lived here during World War II.
Sidney Peterson's 1949 avant-garde film Mr Frenhofer and the Minotaur was based on the link between the short story and the work of Picasso. It draws on Picasso's Minotauromachy, bringing Picasso's work to life with the characters of Gillette, Poussin and Porbus participating.
Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu inspired the film La Belle Noiseuse by Jacques Rivette (1991). (wikipedia.org)
2 different editions
Also available
Also from
de Balzac, Honoré
Learn French with Short Stories: Interlinear French to English
de Balzac, Honoré
Hyplern, Bermuda Word
de Maupassant, Guy
Paperback
Darkness Brews: Draughts, Elixirs, Vintages, and Libations in Classic Speculative Fiction
Hauff, Wilhelm
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Notes remises à Messieurs les députés composant la Commission de la loi sur la propriété littéraire
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Petit dictionnaire critique et anecdotique des enseignes de Paris, par un batteur de pavé
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Physiologie du mariage. Tome 1: ou Méditations de philosophie éclectique sur le bonheur et le malheur conjugal
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Physiologie du mariage. Tome 2: ou Méditations de philosophie éclectique sur le bonheur et le malheur conjugal
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
L'art de mettre sa cravate, de toutes les manières connues et usitées: Enseigné et démontré en seize leçons
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Cousin Bette (Royal Collector's Edition) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)
de Balzac, Honoré
Hardcover
Histoires Drôlatiques De L'empereur Napoléon Ier
Soulié, Frédéric
Tousez, Étienne Augustin
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
The Works of Honoré De Balzac: Eugénie Grandet, Ursule Mirouët, and Other Stories
de Balzac, Honoré
McSpadden, Joseph Walker
Saintsbury, George
Paperback
La Comédie Humaine of Honoré De Balzac; Volume 31
de Balzac, Honoré
Wormeley, Katharine Prescott
Paperback
La Comédie Humaine of Honoré De Balzac; Volume 20
Wormeley, Katharine Prescott
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Eugénie Grand: Les intrigues provinciales et les transitions cachées dans "Eugénie Grandet"
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Modeste Mignon: Les épreuves d'une famille face à la ruine et à la trahison
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Eugénie Grandet (The Human Comedy) (Royal Collector's Edition) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)
de Balzac, Honoré
Hardcover
Scènes De La Vie Privée: Honorine; Le Colonel Chabert; La Messe De L'athée; L'interdiction; Pierre Grassou
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Scènes De La Vie Politique: I. Un Épisode Sous La Terreur. Ii. Le Réquisitionnaire
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
The Lily of the Valley. the Firm of Nucingen. the Country Doctor: And Other Stories
Saintsbury, George
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
The Works of Honoré De Balzac: The Magic Skin, the Quest of the Absolute, and Other Stories. Illustrated Sterling Edition; Illustrated Sterling Editi
Saintsbury, George
de Balzac, Honoré
Hardcover
The Unknown Masterpiece: (Le Chef-D'hoeuvre Inconnu) and Other Stories
de Balzac, Honoré
Marriage, Ellen
Paperback
The Correspondence of Honoré De Balzac; Volume 1
Surville, Laure
de Balzac, Honoré
Kenney, Charles Lamb
Hardcover
La Comédie Humaine of Honoré De Balzac: Cousin Pons
de Balzac, Honoré
Wormeley, Katharine Prescott
Paperback
Les Français Peints Par Eux-Mêmes: Encyclopédie Morale Du Dix-Neuvième Siècle
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture La Femme de trente ans de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture Le Colonel Chabert de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture Le Lys dans la vallée de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture Le Père Goriot de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Histoire des Treize: trois courts romans d'Honoré de Balzac: Ferragus, La Duchesse de Langeais, La Fille aux yeux d'or
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
The Rise and Fall of César Birotteau: (Grandeur Et Décadence De César Birotteau)
Marriage, Ellen
Saintsbury, George
de Balzac, Honoré
Hardcover
Les Français Peints Par Eux-Mêmes: Encyclopédie Morale Du Dix-Neuvième Siècle; Volume 3
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Fiche de lecture La Cousine Bette de Balzac (Analyse littéraire de référence et résumé complet)
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Histoire de la grandeur et de la décadence de César Birotteau: L'ascension et la chute d'un parfumeur parisien
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Séraphîta: Une exploration mystique des paysages norvégiens et des âmes humaines
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Histoire des Treize: trois courts romans d'Honoré de Balzac: Ferragus, La Duchesse de Langeais, La Fille aux yeux d'or.
de Balzac, Honoré
Paperback
Also in
Classic Fiction
James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales Vol. 1 (Loa #26): The Pioneers / The Last of the Mohicans / The Prairie
Cooper, James Fenimore
Hardcover
Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, a Midsummer Night's Dream, the Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
The Princess Bride Deluxe Limited Edition: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Paperback
The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Paperback
The Lord of the Rings Illustrated by the Author: Illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Hardcover
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Hardcover
The Pilgrim's Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Revised and easy-to-read)
Vermilye, Alan
Bunyan, John
Paperback
Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stoker, Bram
Shelley, Mary
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Paperback