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The Hidden Masterpiece

Honoré de Balzac

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Book Excerpt: 
. . .The torch of Prometheus went out in your hands over and over again; there are several parts of your painting on which the celestial flame never shone."

"But why is it so, my dear master?" said Porbus humbly, while the young man could hardly restrain a strong desire to strike the critic.

"Ah! that is the question," said the little old man. "You are floating between two systems,—between drawing and color, between the patient phlegm and honest stiffness of the old Dutch masters and the dazzling warmth and abounding joy of the Italians. You have tried to follow, at one and the same time, Hans Holbein and Titian; Albrecht Durier and Paul Veronese. Well, well! it was a glorious ambition, but what is the result? You have neither the stern attraction of severity nor the deceptive magic of the chiaroscuro. See! at this place the rich, clear color of Titian has forced out the skeleton outline of Albrecht Durier, as molten bronze might burst and overflow . . . Read More

Community Reviews

کتاب شاهکار گمنام، تلفیق تاریخ و تخیل، روایت نگرش و واکنش متضاد دو نقاش به اثار هنریشون ه، دو داستان کوتاه جذاب با پایانی غافلگیر کننده و البته دنیایی از طرح، رنگ ، نقش و خیال در جامه ی کلمات:

" در همه ی احساس­ های بشری درخششی اولیه هست، زاده ی شوری اصیل، که همواره رو به کاهش دارد تا جایی که خوشبختی

Έχετε πιει ποτέ καφέ, με ένα μικρό φύλλο χρυσού από πάνω; Εγώ ναι, στο παλάτι Τσιραάν στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, στις όχθες του Βοσπόρου ανάμεσα στο Μπεσίκτας και το Ορτάκιοϊ. Τον χρυσοπλήρωσα. Όμως το ευχαριστήθηκα. Η θέα στο σημείο αυτό κλυδωνίζει τις αισθήσεις έτσι που απλώς σωπαίνεις και ευφραίνεσαι

The Unknown Masterpiece (Le Chef-D'Œuvre Inconnu) was first published in August 1831 in the journal "L'Artiste" and shortly thereafter, in the third volume of the collection "Romans et Contes philosophiques".

Although described by Satiat as a "hastily written version of a fairy tale" by ETA Hoffmann

Artist and His Model (1926) - by Pablo Picasso

This New York Review Books edition is indeed a classic since it includes not only two highly philosophical works by French master Honoré de Balzac on the nature of art and music but also an illuminating introductory essay by philosopher of art/art criti

Easily the best entry point into Balzac's impressive oeuvre, these two short novellas display the key features of this literary master's ability. The first feature is astounding, complex description, and the second is dramatic, intelligent dialogue. The latter is worthy of a grandiose stage play and

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