The Unknown Masterpiece

Honore Balzac

Two stories, perhaps masterpieces in their own right (?), both about obsession and the psychology of the creative mind. In The Unknown Masterpiece, an artist is so obsessed with painting the ultimate "masterpiece' that he can't stop adding to the painting, constantly adding details to improve it so that it is never finished. In Gambara, a musician is so obsessed with his vision of the perfect opera that his ego and self-absorption threatens his sanity, his marriage and the rest of his life. In both novellas, there is the theme of the artistic genius submerged in madness - one of my favorite topics :-) Truth be told, I enjoyed "Gambara", Balzac's lesser known work, more than "Masterpiece". Go figure.