The Unknown Masterpiece. The Quest for the Absolute

“The Unknown Masterpiece” (Le Chef-d’œuvre inconnu) is a novella by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1831 under the titles “Maitre Frenhofer” and “Catherine Lescaut.” Fifteen years later it was included in “The Human Comedy” under the title “The Unknown Masterpiece.”

In genre terms, it is a romanticism-style novella about artists typical of that literature. Other examples of this genre include “The Church of the Jesuits” by E. T. A. Hoffmann, “Egyptian Nights” by A. S. Pushkin, and “The Portrait” by N. V. Gogol.

Plot
Poussin, an aspiring painter, arrives in Paris and rushes to visit the studio of the court portraitist Porbus. There he meets an old man, Frenhofer, whom Porbus calls a great master and his teacher. From their conversation it becomes clear that Frenhofer has been working for ten years on a portrait of the nude courtesan Catherine Lescaut[1], and he shows it to no one. In this work he put all his skill, all the secrets of art that the brilliant Mabuse once taught him.

Frenhofer laments that he can’t find in France a suitable model to complete the painting of his life. After a period of hesitation, Poussin proposes that he paint the nude—together with his beloved, Gillette. After appreciating Gillette’s beauty, Frenhofer accepts the offer, and Poussin and Porbus, as a reward for the favor, are granted permission to see his masterpiece.

On the canvas before them is an abstract heap of color shades. Only in the corner can they barely make out a fragment of a woman’s foot. Evidently, the old man became so engrossed in details—subtle color transitions—that he completely lost the idea of the whole. Watching the reaction of the connoisseurs, Frenhofer finally realizes his mistake. At night he burns all the paintings in his studio.