Description
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.
About the Author
French writerHonoré de Balzac(born Honoré Balzac), a founder of the realist school of fiction, portrayed the panorama of society in a body of works, known collectively asLa comédie humaine.Honoré de Balzac authored 19th-century novels and plays. After the fall ofNapoléon I Bonapartein 1815, his magnum opus, a sequence of almost a hundred novels and plays, entitled, presents life in the years.Due to keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation, European literature regards Balzac. He features renowned multifaceted, even complex, morally ambiguous, full lesser characters. Character well imbues inanimate objects; the city of Paris, a backdrop, takes on many qualities. He influenced many famous authors, including the novelistsMarcel Proust,Émile Zola,Charles John Huffam Dickens,Gustave Flaubert,Henry James, andJack Kerouacas well as important philosophers, such asFriedrich Engels. Many works of Balzac, made into films, continue to inspire.An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac adapted with trouble to the teaching style of his grammar. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. Balzac finished, and people then apprenticed him as a legal clerk, but after wearying of banal routine, he turned his back on law. He attempted a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician before and during his career. He failed in these efforts. From his own experience, he reflects life difficulties and includes scenes.Possibly due to his intense schedule and from health problems, Balzac suffered throughout his life. Financial and personal drama often strained his relationship with his family, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he marriedEwelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; five months later, he passed away.
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