Dealing and Collecting in Balzac’s Last Novel
Recent studies of the reception and collection of pre-Revolutionary art in nineteenth-century France have centered on real-life historical examples and individuals such as the celebrated collector Louis La Caze. But what can the destiny of a fictional art collection tell us about the metamorphoses o...
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| Published in | Mouvances Francophones Vol. 7; no. 1 |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
11.11.2022
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| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Recent studies of the reception and collection of pre-Revolutionary art in nineteenth-century France have centered on real-life historical examples and individuals such as the celebrated collector Louis La Caze. But what can the destiny of a fictional art collection tell us about the metamorphoses of the mid-nineteenth-century Parisian art market and the very essence and nature of collecting? Honoré de Balzac was an author with his own pretensions to be a great collector and this essay focuses on the complex and often contradictory representation of the art collection in Le Cousin Pons (1847)—one of the last works of La Comédie humaine to be published before the novelist’s death in August 1850. |
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| ISSN: | 2371-7211 2371-7211 |
| DOI: | 10.5206/mf.v7i1.15480 |