The Unknown Masterpiece (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Honoré Balzac
- First Published: 1831
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: 1612
- Setting: Paris
- Principal Characters: Master Frenhofer, Francois Porbus, Nicholas Poussin, Gillette
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Love or romance, Art or artists, Painting or painters, Pictures
- Locales: Paris, France
The Story
In “The Unknown Masterpiece,” Honoré de Balzac describes two meetings of three artists, the old painter Master Frenhofer, the prominent master Francois Porbus, and the young man Nicholas Poussin. As the story begins, Poussin is hesitating before Porbus's door. When Frenhofer appears and is admitted, Poussin follows him into the only painter's studio he has ever seen. Here he is struck by the first important piece of art in the story, Porbus's painting of the Virgin Mary. To Poussin's surprise, Master Frenhofer criticizes the painting for lacking life. When...
[The entire page is 1372 words long]
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