{"product_id":"9781607780571","title":"His Masterpiece : (L'Oeuvre)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eL'Oeuvre\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e is the fourteenth novel in the   Rougon-Macquart series by Emile Zola. It was first serialized in the periodical   \u003ci\u003eGil Blas\u003c\/i\u003e beginning in December 1885 before being published in novel form   by Charpentier in 1886.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe title, translated literally as \"The Work\" (as in work of art), is often   rendered in English as \u003ci\u003eThe Masterpiece\u003c\/i\u003e or \u003ci\u003eHis Masterpiece\u003c\/i\u003e. It   refers to the struggles of the protagonist Claude Lantier to paint a great work   reflecting his talent and genius.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eL'Oeuvre\u003c\/em\u003e is a highly fictionalized account of Zola's friendship with   the painter Paul Cézanne. Zola and Cézanne grew up together in Aix-en-Provence,   the model for Zola's Plassans, where Claude Lantier is born and receives his   education. Like Cézanne, Claude Lantier is a revolutionary artist whose work is   misunderstood by an art-going public hidebound to traditional subjects,   techniques, and representations. Zola's self-portrait can be seen in the   character of the novelist Pierre Sandoz.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe book is often blamed with ending the friendship between Cézanne and Zola.   The story of a groundbreaking artist unable to live up to his potential must   have seemed intensely personal to Cézanne; no correspondence exists between the   two after a letter in which Cézanne thanks Zola for sending him the novel.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e— Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MobileReference","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47163332559088,"sku":"9781607780571","price":0.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781607780571_p0.jpg?v=1763837349","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781607780571","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}