The Unknown Masterpiece

A New York Review Books Original

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."

Published here in a new translation by poet Richard Howard, "The Unknown Masterpiece" appears, as Balzac intended, with "Gambara," a grotesque and tragic novella about a musician undone by his dreams.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Published: 08/31/2000
ISBN: 9780940322745
Pages: 160
Weight: 0.37lbs
Size: 7.97h x 4.98w x 0.46d

Review Citations: Reference and Research Bk News 08/01/2001 pg. 230