Project Gutenberg 2007-10-17 Public domain in the USA. 858 Balzac, Honoré de 1799 1850 Balzac, Honore de Saint-Aubin, Horace de De Balzac, Honoré Balzac, H. de (Honoré de) Chef d'oeuvre inconnu. English The Unknown Masterpiece 1845 Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Chef-d%27%C5%93uvre_inconnu Produced by David Widger "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.) Reading ease score: 77.2 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Biographical fiction France -- Fiction French fiction -- Translations into English Painters -- Fiction Poussin, Nicolas, 1594?-1665 -- Fiction PQ Text Category: Novels Category: French Literature Category: Art 95700 2025-08-09T13:37:50.986352 text/html 74668 2025-02-19T06:18:55 text/html 111228 2025-08-09T13:37:56.139374 application/epub+zip 111471 2025-08-09T13:37:53.676340 application/epub+zip 103765 2025-08-09T13:37:52.605380 application/epub+zip 233423 2025-08-09T13:37:57.937373 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 224028 2025-08-09T13:37:55.500419 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 182217 2022-09-11T03:46:35.515676 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 80676 2025-08-09T13:37:50.623397 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 60970 2025-02-19T06:18:55 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 79650 2007-10-17T13:18:40 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 79641 2007-10-17T13:18:40 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 23763 2025-08-09T13:37:58.087335 application/rdf+xml 14482 2025-08-09T13:37:53.106356 image/jpeg 3874 2025-08-09T13:37:52.854387 image/jpeg 31620 2016-11-24T04:31:14 application/octet-stream application/zip 31585 2007-10-17T13:18:40 application/octet-stream application/zip 33983 2021-02-24T22:20:15 application/octet-stream application/zip 31563 2007-10-17T13:18:40 application/octet-stream application/zip 111789 2025-08-09T13:37:50.994373 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog fr.wikipedia en.wikipedia