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185:. He has been working on this future masterpiece that no one has yet seen for ten years. Poussin offers his own lover, Gillette, as a model. Gillette is so beautiful that Frenhofer is inspired to finish his project quickly. Poussin and Porbus come to admire the painting, but all they can see is part of a foot that has been lost in a swirl of colors. Their disappointment drives Frenhofer to madness, and he burns his paintings and dies that night.
181:, and while Frenhofer sings her praises, he hints that the work seems unfinished. With some slight touches of the paintbrush, Frenhofer transforms Porbus' painting such that Mary the Egyptian appears to come alive before their very eyes. Although Frenhofer has mastered his technique, he admits that he has been unable to find a suitable model for his own masterpiece, which depicts a beautiful courtesan called Catherine Lescault, known as
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197:, this is set in the 17th century, in the year 1612. Of the three artists depicted in this story, Poussin and Porbus were real artists of the 17th century. Frenhofer is a purely fictional character. In the case of Porbus, Balzac used the gallicized version of the surname of Frans Pourbus.
216:
strongly identified with
Frenhofer, once saying "Frenhofer, c'est moi" (I am Frenhofer). Critic Jon Kear argues that Cézanne's own attempts to paint the nude were heavily influenced by Balzac's portrayal of Frenhofer's work.
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to illustrate "Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu". Picasso was fascinated by the text and identified with
Frenhofer so much that he moved to the rue des Grands-Augustins in
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in his workshop. He is accompanied by the old master
Frenhofer, who comments expertly on the large tableau that Porbus has just finished. The painting is of
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161:"Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu" is a reflection on art, and has had an important influence on modernist artists.
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492:"The Hidden Masterpiece", translation by Katharine Prescott Wormeley at Project Gutenberg (full text)
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was based on the link between the short story and the work of
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487:"The Unknown Masterpiece", translation (by Ellen Marriage?) at Project Gutenberg (full text)
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158:. The work is separated into two chapters: "Gillette" and "Catherine Lescault".
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365:'Frenhofer, c'est moi': Cézanne's Nudes and Balzac's Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu",
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where Balzac located Porbus' studio. There he painted his own masterpiece,
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Illustration by Pierre Vidal of a scene from "Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu"
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136:. It appeared again later in the same year under the title "
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Visionary Film: The
American Avant-Garde, 1943–2000
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Commemorative plaque at 7 rue des Grands-Augustins.
410:"PICASSO'S STUDIO, 7 RUE GRANDS AUGUSTINS, PARIS"
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266:"Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu" inspired the film
412:. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
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132:" (English: "Master Frenhofer") in August
122:. It was first published in the newspaper
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347:Danto, Arthur C. (2001). "Introduction".
505:"Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu", audio version
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1368:Works originally published in L'Artiste
948:Les Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan
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871:Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes
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173:, as yet unknown, visits the painter
138:Catherine Lescault, conte fantastique
434:(3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
16:1831 short story by Honoré de Balzac
1276:Petites misères de la vie conjugale
369:, Volume 35, Issue 4, pp. 345–360.
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114:: "The Unknown Masterpiece") is a
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140:". It was published in Balzac's
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460:Darragh O'Donoghue (May 2007).
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389:"Balzac's Unknown Masterpiece"
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255:Mr Frenhofer and the Minotaur
193:Unlike most other stories in
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899:Les Comédiens sans le savoir
775:Scènes de la vie de province
576:La Maison du chat-qui-pelote
238:. Picasso lived here during
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1343:Books of La Comédie humaine
863:Scènes de la vie Parisienne
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1202:Un drame au bord de la mer
1068:Une passion dans le désert
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1015:Un épisode sous la Terreur
1000:Scènes de la vie politique
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148:and was integrated into
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1132:Jésus-Christ en Flandre
913:La Duchesse de Langeais
839:Le Cabinet des Antiques
568:Scènes de la vie privée
349:The Unknown Masterpiece
108:Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu
1216:L'Elixir de longue vie
1086:Le Médecin de campagne
1022:Madame de la Chanterie
1008:Une ténébreuse affaire
920:La Fille aux yeux d'or
878:Un prince de la bohème
825:La Muse du département
674:La Femme de trente ans
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1110:Études philosophiques
846:Le Lys dans la vallée
818:L'illustre Gaudissart
709:Le Contrat de mariage
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189:Historical background
142:Études philosophiques
1353:French short stories
990:Les Petits Bourgeois
716:Un début dans la vie
639:Autre étude de femme
387:Mark Harris (1996).
323:"Catherine Lescault"
201:Influence on artists
1348:Fiction set in 1612
1293:Eugène de Rastignac
1188:Le Réquisitionnaire
885:Un homme d’affaires
751:La Messe de l'athée
681:La Femme abandonnée
625:La Fausse Maîtresse
462:"La belle noiseuse"
367:Cambridge Quarterly
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1338:1831 short stories
1261:Études analytiques
1139:Melmoth réconcilié
1118:La Peau de chagrin
1093:Le Curé de village
941:La Maison Nucingen
744:Le Colonel Chabert
646:La Grande Bretèche
611:Une double famille
547:La Comédie humaine
464:. Senses of Cinema
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195:La Comédie humaine
151:La Comédie humaine
69:La Comédie humaine
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1043:Le Député d'Arcis
853:Illusions perdues
618:La Paix du ménage
430:P. Adams (2003).
269:La Belle Noiseuse
183:La Belle noiseuse
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95:Publication place
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832:La Vieille Fille
804:Le Curé de Tours
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552:Honoré de Balzac
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222:Ambroise Vollard
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361:Kear, John,
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240:World War II
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214:Paul Cézanne
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165:Plot summary
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50:Pierre Vidal
1100:Les Paysans
1061:Les Chouans
969:Facino Cane
597:La Vendetta
502:(In French)
332:27 February
307:27 February
246:Adaptations
116:short story
47:Illustrator
1332:Categories
1195:El Verdugo
1174:Les Marana
695:Le Message
298:"Gillette"
284:References
1251:Séraphîta
1036:Z. Marcas
962:Sarrasine
797:Pierrette
590:La Bourse
468:3 January
220:In 1927,
125:L'Artiste
75:Publisher
1029:L'Initié
906:Ferragus
737:Honorine
448:47023642
416:12 March
394:11 March
375:42971760
235:Guernica
55:Language
1298:Vautrin
1286:Related
1160:Gambara
730:Béatrix
702:Gobseck
327:Gallica
302:Gallica
226:Picasso
112:English
446:
438:
373:
224:asked
175:Porbus
169:Young
99:France
65:Series
59:French
37:Author
1181:Adieu
371:JSTOR
230:Paris
470:2021
444:OCLC
436:ISBN
418:2021
396:2018
334:2021
309:2021
278:1991
156:1846
146:1837
134:1831
89:1831
550:by
280:).
272:by
154:in
144:in
118:by
110:" (
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276:(
106:"
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
