One of Honoré de Balzac's most celebrated tales, The Unknown Masterpiece is the story of a painter who, depending on one's perspective, is either an abject failure or a transcendental genius—or both. The story, which has served as an inspiration to artists as various as Cézanne, Henry James, Picasso, and New Wave director Jacques Rivette, is, in critic Dore Ashton's words, a "fable of modern art."
The Unknown Masterpiece and Other Stories
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Honoré De Balzac (1799-1850) is generally credited as the inventor of the modern realistic novel. In more than ninety novels, he set forth French society and life as he saw it. He created a cast of over two thousand individual and identifiable characters, some of whom reappear in different novels. He organized his works into his masterpiece, La Comedie Humaine, which was the final result of his attempt to grasp the whole of society and experience into one varied but unified work.
Richard Howard is a poet, translator and critic. Since 1958, he has translated more than one hundred fifty books and has earned recognition as one of the truly authoritative translators of modern French literature.
Richard Howard is a poet, translator and critic. Since 1958, he has translated more than one hundred fifty books and has earned recognition as one of the truly authoritative translators of modern French literature.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
These two short stories by Balzac are classics of nineteenth-century romanticism. They amount to his manifesto of aesthetics, first in painting, then in music, and centre on the closeness of genius to madness. This translation is superb, from one of the best modern translators from French.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Joy
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this story because of the current Richard Hamilton exhibition at the National Gallery. Hamilton's unfinished work (because he died before he could finish it) is a response to the Balzac story. Apparently, both Cezanne and Picasso loved the story because it focusses on the question of what is great - or rubbish - in art. The story leaves us with this question.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By artconsumer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This marvellous short story of Balzac's is offered in a small pamphlet which would be perfectly acceptable except for the very poor editing, with such blunders as beginning sentences with lower case, blank lines between paragraphs and so on. The text would have looked far better justified. It seems as if you are reading type-written sheets produced by a schoolboy at his first attempt at typing.I am glad to get it in any form, but a few very simple presses of a button in a word processor would have made a big difference to its appearance, and my enjoyment.
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3.9 out of 5 stars
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Balzac
I bought this for my husband as he was very struck by a french film called La Belle Noiseurse.
It was based on 'The Unknown Masterpiece' by Balzac. Read more
It was based on 'The Unknown Masterpiece' by Balzac. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Sheila
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book
This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. It comes in a sturdy black box and is printed on exceptionally think, cream coloured paper. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2003
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