# The Unknown Masterpiece

_1845_

By Honoré de Balzac.

"The Unknown Masterpiece" by Honoré de Balzac is a short story first published in 1831. Set in seventeenth-century Paris, it follows three painters: the young unknown Nicolas Poussin, the established Porbus, and the enigmatic master Frenhofer. For ten years, Frenhofer has labored obsessively on a secret painting he believes will be his greatest triumph. When Poussin offers his beautiful lover as a model, the completion draws near—but what will the finished work reveal? A profound meditation on artistic perfection and obsession. (Summary by Project Gutenberg, written by machine.)

- Language: English
- Subjects: Biographical fiction; France -- Fiction; French fiction -- Translations into English; Painters -- Fiction; Poussin, Nicolas, 1594?-1665 -- Fiction

[Read it](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/books/gutenberg/23060/read)
[Plain text](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/api/books/gutenberg/23060/text)

## Audiobooks of it

- [Unknown Masterpiece](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/books/librivox/20981) by Honoré de Balzac (1 h 26 min, English)

From Project Gutenberg. Public domain in the United States.