The Unknown Masterpiece: Amazon.ca: Honore de Balzac: Books

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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6 Reviews

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4.0 out of 5 stars Artists are not gods, May 2 2004

By	C. B Collins Jr. (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Unknown Masterpiece (Paperback)

Balzac's The Unknown Masterpiece is not about abstract art! It is about the destructive power of obsession for perfection. The artist Frenhofer over-paints and touches-up his masterpiece until it is not recognizable as anything but a mess. Balzac's Gambarra was too wordy but it does have the interesting theme of an artist, totally consumed by his personal vision, and thus not able to recognize the sacrifices and motivations of those around him. He writes an opera about the beginnings of Islam and the sacrifice of a woman for the man she loves. Yet Gambarra can not see this same pattern being played out with his wife and thus his single minded vision destroys his marriage. He is both a genius and a fool. His atonal compositions were 100 years before their time. His inability to empathize and get out of his own visions results in his wife's running off with an Italian count who plots to steal Gambarra's wife after he sees the composer's Achille's heel. I don't think I would recommend these books to anyone but artists. They reveal the artistic feet of clay which we so often overlook.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great Tales About Artists Struggling To Create Masterpieces, Jan 23 2004

By	John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Unknown Masterpiece (Paperback)

At first glance "The Unknown Masterpiece" and "Gambarra" are dissimilar tales about a painter and a composer. Yet they share in common the main protagonist's struggle to make a masterpiece; the finest painting and opera ever conceived. Unfortunately in "The Unknown Masterpiece" the painter Frenhofer is so dissatisfied with his work that he paints it anew, and it is seen by his friends, with disastrous consequences for all. In "Gambarra" the composer of the same name struggles to finish an opera on the early history of Islam, which he promises will be more glorious than any by Mozart. Such lofty ambitions remain unrealized, leaving the composer impoverished. Without question two of the greatest tales ever written by Balzac, influencing generations of painters, writers and other artists.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The birth of the modern, Nov 26 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Unknown Masterpiece (Paperback)

It's amazing that the author was able to create an essay on 20th century abstract art in 1834. But this story is much more than that. It is a commentary on the parallels between art and human psychology, and the unreality of both... also, a character study, a mystery, an allegorical tale... all within 40 pages. In keeping with its theme, The Unknown Masterpiece is, on the other hand, none of those things. In keeping with its title... at least in this country.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A writer expressing the life of the artist
I dig Balzac telling us about his views of art through the stories of a painter ("The Unknown Masterpiece") and a musician ("Gambara"). Read more

Published on Oct 19 2001 by Doc Savage

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent Obsession
This is such a strange short story by Balzac. The premise is simple: An aging Parisian artist is obsessed over a single painting which he has been working on for years. Read more

Published on Jul 5 2001 by Futoshi J. Tomori

3.0 out of 5 stars Was this an unknown masterpiece?
I wasn't quite able to get the full meaning of what the painter Frenhofer was trying to paint, but I can guess it was beautiful, and yet it turned out wrong. Read more

Published on Jun 4 2000 by T.M. Creighton