Saul Austerlitz called '' La Bande des quatre '' success " Rivette ’s second wind as a filmmaker " ; it led to '' La Belle Noiseuse '' ( '' The Beautiful Troublemaker '' ) ( 1991 ) , the most-acclaimed film of Rivette 's later career . Loosely based on the Balzac short story " The Unknown Masterpiece " , it depicts the relationship between reclusive , uninspired painter Frenhofer ( Michel Piccoli ) , his wife and former model Liz ( Birkin ) and his new model , Marianne ( Emmanuelle Béart ) . Marianne inspires Frenhofer to finish his long-abandoned '' magnum opus '' , '' La Belle Noiseuse '' , as Liz and Marianne 's boyfriend become increasingly jealous . The four-hour film shows the painting 's progress in real time , one brush stroke at a time , with hand close-ups by French abstract painter Bernard Dufour . According to Rivette , " We tried truly to make a film that did not talk about painting , but approached it " . The film earned him the Grand Prix at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival and the Prix Méliès from the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics . It received five César Award nominations , including Best Picture and Best Director ( Rivette 's only nomination in that category ) . Shortly after its Cannes success , a two-hour version , '' La Belle Noiseuse : Divertimento '' , was theatrically released
1991 Cannes Film Festival
1991 Cannes Film Festival
Jacques Rivette