This article is an attempt to analyze the relationship between literature and painting, seeking to understand the process of construction of the narrative and the space of representation of painting in the tale “Le chef-d’oeuvre inconnu” (The masterpiece unknown) by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. The work is included in the second part of Commédie humaine and was written under the infl uence of the process of rupture and transgression of the classical esthetics, and the avant-garde movements that emerged in the nineteenth century.Este artigo se propõe a analisar a relação entre literatura e pintura, visando a compreender o processo de construção da narrativa e o espaço de representação da pintura no conto “Le chef-d’oeuvre inconnu” (“A obra prima ignorada”) do escritor francês Honoré de Balzac, pertencente à segunda parte da Comédie humaine, (Comédia humana) sob a infl uência do processo de ruptura e transgressão da estética clássica e dos movimentos de vanguarda que surgiram no século XIX.