Honoré de Balzac, Chef d'oeuvre inconnu

Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge)

Ed. by Nigel Harkness, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1831

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novella

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First published in the newly-created journal

L’Artiste

in 1831, and reworked in 1837,

Le Chef-d’œuvre inconnu

by Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) is a short story or

récit

that the author grouped together in his collected

Comédie humaine

under the heading “Études philosophiques”. Because it is concerned with artistic production (specifically painting), Balzac associated it with two other stories that also explore the creative process,

Gambara

(1837) and

Massimilla Doni

(1839) (which concern the composition and performance of music). For Balzac, artistic expression of all kinds represents human thought and feeling pushed to the extreme. In these texts (and others), Balzac explores the mesmerizing, terrible and almost super-natural quality that he sees as inherent in artistic…

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1561 words

Citation: Gerwin, Elisabeth. "Chef d'oeuvre inconnu". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 July 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21923, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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Honoré de Balzac, Chef d'oeuvre inconnu

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