Pierre Grassou (Esprios Classics): Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley in Bloomington, MN

Pierre Grassou is an 1839 short story by French author Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) and included in the Scènes de la vie privee section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Pierre Grassou de Fougères is a mediocre and unoriginal painter who lives off painting imitative works commissioned by an old swindler and art-dealer named Elias Magus. Grassou paints works in the style of Titian, Rembrandt, and other famous artists. Magus passes these off as genuine and sells them for a large profit to members of the Petite bourgeoisie who are incapable of appreciating good art. Monsieur Vervelle, a prosperous bottle-dealer obsessed with art, is introduced to Grassou by Magus, who introduces the painter as a grand master.