The Unknown Masterpiece by Honoré de Balzac

Read now or download (free!)

Choose how to read this book Url Size
Read online (web) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23060.html.images 93 kB
EPUB3 (E-readers incl. Send-to-Kindle) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23060.epub3.images 109 kB
EPUB (older E-readers) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23060.epub.images 109 kB
EPUB (no images, older E-readers) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23060.epub.noimages 101 kB
Kindle https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23060.kf8.images 228 kB
older Kindles https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23060.kindle.images 219 kB
Plain Text UTF-8 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23060.txt.utf-8 78 kB
Download HTML (zip) https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/23060/pg23060-h.zip 109 kB
There may be more files related to this item.

About this eBook

Author Balzac, Honoré de, 1799-1850
Uniform Title Chef d'oeuvre inconnu. English
Title The Unknown Masterpiece
1845
Credits Produced by David Widger
Summary "The Unknown Masterpiece" by Honoré de Balzac is a novella written during the early to mid-19th century. This narrative explores the complexities of artistic ambition and the pursuit of perfection. Set against the backdrop of 17th-century Paris, it delves into the world of painting, examining the relationship between art and life, and the obsession that artists can experience in their quest for unattainable beauty. The story follows a young aspiring painter, Nicolas Poussin, who visits the studio of the acclaimed artist Frenhofer. Frenhofer is depicted as a reclusive genius, fixated on creating a perfect masterpiece, a painting of a woman he believes embodies true beauty. Through conversations between Poussin, Frenhofer, and another painter, Porbus, the narrative reveals the profound struggles artists face in capturing the essence of life and emotion on canvas. Frenhofer ultimately becomes desperate after discovering that, despite his years of work, his creation exists only in his imagination rather than reality. The novella presents a poignant exploration of artistic aspiration, the ephemeral nature of beauty, and the conflict between the artist's vision and the reality of their craft. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Language English
LoC Class PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Subject Biographical fiction
Subject France -- Fiction
Subject French fiction -- Translations into English
Subject Painters -- Fiction
Subject Poussin, Nicolas, 1594?-1665 -- Fiction
Category Text
EBook-No. 23060
Release Date
Most Recently Updated Feb 24, 2021
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
Downloads 744 downloads in the last 30 days.
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!