![]() ![]() After walking to and fro for some time with the hesitation of a lover who fears to approach his mistress, however complying she may be, he ended by crossing the threshold and asking if Maitre Francois Porbus were within. On a cold morning in December, towards the close of the year 1612, a young man, whose clothing betrayed his poverty, was standing before the door of a house in the Rue des Grands-Augustine, in Paris. ![]() The next column will feature a story inspired by “The Unknown Masterpiece” from artist and arts writer Laurie Fendrich. Today marks the beginning of the Two Coats of Paint fiction column, a special summer section featuring short stories about artists, collectors, galleries, and other matters centered in the art world. To kick the series off, we present Balzac’s classic, “The Unknown Masterpiece.” Originally published in 1837 and set in the 1600s, the story is about an old painter named Frenhofer who has been working secretly on his “masterpiece” for years. In 1931 Pablo Picasso made a series of etchings that illustrated Balzac’s short story, “The Hidden Masterpiece� (Le Chef-d�oeuvre inconnu). ![]()
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