Loosely adapted from the 1831 short story Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu (The Unknown Masterpiece) by Honoré de Balzac,[1] and set in present-day France, it tells how a famous old artist is stimulated to come out of retirement and do one last painting of a beautiful young woman.

Work starts early the next morning in Frenhofer's isolated studio, consisting of continual pen and wash studies on paper of Marianne in different positions as he tries to capture the uniqueness of her body and the character of the woman within it.

[3] The film received critical acclaim, and occasioned much comment on Béart's extensive onscreen nudity and director Rivette's characteristic use of a long running time (almost four hours).

The website's critics consensus reads: "A sensual and hypnotic masterpiece, La Belle Noiseuse luxuriates in its four-hour run time while holding audience attention.

[6] Rivette used alternative takes from the film and made changes in the scene order to produce a shorter, 125-minute version, La Belle Noiseuse: Divertimento, for television.