Frenhofer (Michel Piccoli), a renowned French artist, hasn't lifted his brush in years. But when he meets the stunningly beautiful girlfriend (Emmanuelle Beart) of a young painter visiting his chateau, she inspires him to return to work on an abandoned masterpiece, known as "La Belle Noiseuse." Frenhofer had set the painting aside a decade earlier when it threatened to consume him entirely and destroy his fragile relationship with his wife. Stirred to action once more, he and the young model embark on a perilous collaboration that will forever change them both. New Wave legend Jacques Rivette's beautiful, passionate film honestly depicts the painful choices an artist must sometimes make between commitment to life and loved ones, or total submission to the often devastating demands of art.