The unknown masterpiece and other prose

Alongside his extensive novels capturing the life and customs of French society in the first half of the 19th century, Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) also devoted himself to shorter literary forms. Here, his skill for characterisation and his ability to tell a well-developed story in a small space truly shine. A specific theme in these short prose works by Balzac is the world of artists. As a writer, he naturally had a close connection to it, but he showed a particular understanding of painting and music especially.

The theme of artistic genius bordering on madness is explored in the short story The Unknown Masterpiece and the novella Gambara, through the characters of the painter Frenhofer and the composer Gambara. Both, each in their own way, yearn for artistic truth and perfection; however, this desire, or perhaps obsession, can result in their works remaining inaccessible to society.

The story of the sculptor Sarrasine in the eponymous short story shows, among other things, how a humanly inexperienced and naive artist, immersed in his work from a young age, succumbs to the pitfalls and intrigues of society, specifically the world of Roman opera. In contrast, the short story Pierre Grassou portrays a painter who achieved success and recognition not through talent or originality, but through many years of toil, self-denial, and the ability to cater to prevailing societal tastes.

The confrontation of two different worlds, in the form of the love between the bohemian painter from high society, Théodore de Sommervieux, and an ordinary bourgeois girl, is the theme of the novella At the Sign of the Cat and Racket.

All the prose pieces are published in a new translation by Jan Petříček, and the novella Gambara is being published in Czech for the very first time. The book – with an afterword by Eva Blinková Pelánová – is the third volume in the WORLD CLASSICS edition, which presents both well-known and lesser-known works by the geniuses of world literature from recent centuries. The selection criterion is whether they have stood the test of time and are capable of engaging today's reader.