Lecture 1: An allegory of Modern Art, Balzac’s ‘Unknown Masterpiece’

If you missed Lecture 1: An allegory of Modern Art, Balzac’s ‘Unknown Masterpiece’ from Terence Maloon’s series The 50 years that changed painting 1867-1917, you can watch the recorded version below or on our Youtube channel. 

The lecture series continues throughout the year on the first Sunday of each month. Learn more about the upcoming lectures and book a seat here

Lecture 1: An allegory of Modern Art, Balzac’s ‘Unknown Masterpiece’

Balzac’s most famous short story tells the tale of a maverick painter who has elaborated in secret his “masterpiece”. Modern artists have been haunted by this tale. Cézanne named the painter Frenhofer his favourite character in fiction, and Picasso illustrated the centenary edition in a deluxe publication. Is this a Romantic tale about the pitfalls of idealism, the degeneration of the classical tradition, a crisis of doubt, or the perils of abstraction?