The Unknown Masterpiece (Le chef-d'oeuvre inconnu)
Artist: Pablo Picasso (Spanish (active France), 1881-1973)
Publisher: Ambroise Vollard, Paris, 1931
Author: Honoré de Balzac (French, 1799-1850)
Date: 1931
Dimensions:
Book: H: 13 in. (330 mm); W: 10 1/4 in. (260 mm); Depth: 1 1/2 in. (38 mm).
Page: H: 12 3/4 in. (324 mm); W: 10 in. (254 mm).
Medium: Original prints: 13 etchings, 68 wood engravings, including cover.
Text: letterpress.
Paper: cream wove B.F.K. Rives paper, watermarked.
Classification: Books
Credit Line: Mrs. George W. Stevens Fund
Object number: 1984.24A-N
Label Text:Balzac's story tells of an artist who labors on a painting for years. Torn between the ecstasies of creation and the quest for perfection, the artist reworks the portrait again and again, but when he finally shows it to friends, all they see is a confused mass of colors. The artist, in despair, burns his canvasses and dies. Picasso's 12 etchings explore the underlying theme of the novel: the artist's relationship to his model, who, in turn, inspires his work. The book is "introduced" by 16 pages reproducing Picasso's dot and line drawings.
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In Collection(s)