A New York Review Books Original One of Honore de Balzacs most celebratedtales <strong>The Unknown Masterpiece</strong> is the story of a painter who depending ... » 

A New York Review Books Original One of Honore de Balzacs most celebratedtales The Unknown Masterpiece is the story of a painter who depending onones perspective is either an abject failure or a transcendental geniusorboth. The story which has served as an inspiration to artists as various asCezanne Henry James Picasso and New Wave director Jacques Rivette is incritic Dore Ashtons words a fable of modern art. Published here in a newtranslation by poet Richard Howard The Unknown Masterpiece appears asBalzac intended with Gambara a grotesque and tragic novella about amusician undone by his dreams. «