Maurice Denis
Granville, Francia, 1870 - Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Francia, 1943
Denis's personality began to fully manifest itself only after 1890, during his stay in Pont-Aven; here the artist experienced success, offering mainly religious themes, so much so that he was nicknamed the "Nabi of beautiful icons."
After brilliant studies at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris, he entered the Académie Julian in 1888, where he met Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Paul Ranson and Paul Sérusier, who, having just returned from a stay in Pont-Aven, initiated the group into Synthetism. Based on the principles learned from Sérusier, these artists formed the Nabis (Prophets in Hebrew) group; rejecting Impressionism, they declared themselves disciples of Paul Gauguin. The revelation of the new way of painting is confirmed by a visit to the exhibition of dissident artists called the "Impressionist and Synthetist Group," held at the Café Volpini in Paris, where Emile Bernard, Paul Gauguin, Emile Schuffenecker, Louis Anquetin, Charles Laval, and Louis Roy exhibited a series of very innovative works.
Meanwhile, Denis entered the School of Fine Arts; in 1890 he exhibited for the first time at the Salon and published the Nabis manifesto in the magazine "Art et Critique." Among his doctrinal formulas one became famous "One must remember that a painting, before being a warhorse, a naked woman or any anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colors, juxtaposed in a certain way." In 1893 Maurice Denis intervened in the decoration of the "Théâtre de L'Oeuvre" founded by Lugné-Poe, his friend and fellow student at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris.
Denis's personality began to fully manifest itself only after 1890, during his stay in Pont-Aven; here the artist experienced success, proposing mainly religious themes, so much so that he was nicknamed the "Nabi of beautiful icons."
Denis is liked because he infuses a sense of intimacy and actuality into sacred painting by depicting episodes from Genesis or mythological scenes with Breton landscapes in the background. For Denis, it makes no sense to reproduce nature and life roughly; on the contrary, it is necessary to render one's emotions and dreams by representing them through harmonious colors and shapes.
In the last decade of the century Denis created a number of works that can be placed within the framework of that renewal of the decorative arts launched in England by William Morris, which spread from Brussels to France and was called Art Nouveau. These are wallpaper decorations, screens, abat jours, decorative panels, designs for stained glass windows, etc. Indeed, at the Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1891 art objects were also beginning to be exhibited in order to promote the fusion of all artistic expressions: painting, sculpture, graphic arts and applied arts.
In 1897 Denis visited Tuscany, where he studied the works of Piero della Francesca, Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, and Frà Angelico, drawing inspiration for many compositions. The following year Denis discovers Rome, a significant place for his painting, which will lead him from Symbolism to a new classical order. In Rome he meets the writer André Gide and with him engages in enthusiastic literary, artistic and especially religious discussions. Just as the Christian religion with its dictates and practices of worship is able to preserve the dignity of life, in the same way the painter, to preserve the dignity of his art, must rise above the subjectivity of emotions and sensations. In a letter to Vuillard, Denis states, "I believe that we are wrong in demanding from the work of art an immediate pleasure, an external liking ..."; he further adds, referring to Michelangelo, that "although nothing is uglier than the Last Judgment, it is still one of the wonders of painting. Classical art is made up of sacrifices, renunciations, theoretical and aesthetic reasoning, at the expense of the natural gift and instinctive work of the painter."
He then breaks with the Nabis and continues his work by painting with the usual clear and cheerful chromaticism; the palette becomes richer, the modeling becomes firmer, and perspective is again important. He studied Ingres and Poussin in depth and entered into relations with the intellectual milieu of the time.
Although Denis has known Cézanne's work for a long time, in 1898 his interest in the Aix master is renewed, as he understands that Cézanne is in the same situation of inner conflict as himself. On the one hand there is a strong feeling that allows him to preserve the authenticity of the initial emotion, and on the other there is an awareness, before the example of the old masters, of the need to "build," to "realize."
Emblematic of this admiration is the painting Denis made in 1900 under the title Homage to Cézanne. The work depicts the group of Nabis painters admiring a still life by Cézanne in Vollard's gallery. André Gide's immediate purchase of this "manifesto" of the transition between the past (Nabis) and the future Cézanne order confirms the discussions the two had in Rome.
In 1903 he was one of the founders of the Salon d'Automne where he promoted the opening of a section for religious art. The same year he was appointed master at the Académie Ranson, but he would leave teaching in 1919 to create "Les Ateliers d'Art Sacré," attended by many students and intended for the renewal of religious painting. Denis was one of the rare great decorators of his era, capable of handling works of vast surfaces. Among his most important decorative cycles are: the decoration for the Sainte-Croix du Vésinet church (1901-1903); the ceiling and friezes in the Théâtre des Champs Elysées (1912); and the decorations in the League of Nations building in Geneva.
Denis illustrated numerous works of modern (from André Gide to Paul Verlaine) and ancient (Dante Alighieri, St. Francis of Assisi) literature. In 1932 he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts as an honorary consecration of his rich artistic career.
Many anthological exhibitions were dedicated to the artist: in 1922 in Venice; in 1924 at the Musée d'Art Décoratifs in Paris.
In 1932 he participated in the Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts.
During the war period, from about 1941 to 1943, he often took refuge in Thonon-les-Bains, on Lake Geneva, where he executed two decorative cycles, for the basilica and for the Pensionnat de Crête.
Two years after his death, in 1945, the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris organized a retrospective exhibition for him, as did the Musée de l'Orangerie in 1970 to mark the centenary of his birth.
In 1980, a museum dedicated to "Maurice Denis and his time" opened in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
In 2006-2007, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris paid homage to the artist with a major exhibition that included all of the artist's periods; the same exhibition would be shown again at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montréal, and in Italy, at the Mart Museum in Rovereto.
In 2012, the Maurice Denis exhibition, "Nabi aux belles icônes," was presented at the Musée des Impressionnismes in Giverny, with the collaboration of the artist's heirs and the Musée Maurice Denis de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Meanwhile, Denis entered the School of Fine Arts; in 1890 he exhibited for the first time at the Salon and published the Nabis manifesto in the magazine "Art et Critique." Among his doctrinal formulas one became famous "One must remember that a painting, before being a warhorse, a naked woman or any anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colors, juxtaposed in a certain way." In 1893 Maurice Denis intervened in the decoration of the "Théâtre de L'Oeuvre" founded by Lugné-Poe, his friend and fellow student at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris.
Denis's personality began to fully manifest itself only after 1890, during his stay in Pont-Aven; here the artist experienced success, proposing mainly religious themes, so much so that he was nicknamed the "Nabi of beautiful icons."
Denis is liked because he infuses a sense of intimacy and actuality into sacred painting by depicting episodes from Genesis or mythological scenes with Breton landscapes in the background. For Denis, it makes no sense to reproduce nature and life roughly; on the contrary, it is necessary to render one's emotions and dreams by representing them through harmonious colors and shapes.
In the last decade of the century Denis created a number of works that can be placed within the framework of that renewal of the decorative arts launched in England by William Morris, which spread from Brussels to France and was called Art Nouveau. These are wallpaper decorations, screens, abat jours, decorative panels, designs for stained glass windows, etc. Indeed, at the Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1891 art objects were also beginning to be exhibited in order to promote the fusion of all artistic expressions: painting, sculpture, graphic arts and applied arts.
In 1897 Denis visited Tuscany, where he studied the works of Piero della Francesca, Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, and Frà Angelico, drawing inspiration for many compositions. The following year Denis discovers Rome, a significant place for his painting, which will lead him from Symbolism to a new classical order. In Rome he meets the writer André Gide and with him engages in enthusiastic literary, artistic and especially religious discussions. Just as the Christian religion with its dictates and practices of worship is able to preserve the dignity of life, in the same way the painter, to preserve the dignity of his art, must rise above the subjectivity of emotions and sensations. In a letter to Vuillard, Denis states, "I believe that we are wrong in demanding from the work of art an immediate pleasure, an external liking ..."; he further adds, referring to Michelangelo, that "although nothing is uglier than the Last Judgment, it is still one of the wonders of painting. Classical art is made up of sacrifices, renunciations, theoretical and aesthetic reasoning, at the expense of the natural gift and instinctive work of the painter."
He then breaks with the Nabis and continues his work by painting with the usual clear and cheerful chromaticism; the palette becomes richer, the modeling becomes firmer, and perspective is again important. He studied Ingres and Poussin in depth and entered into relations with the intellectual milieu of the time.
Although Denis has known Cézanne's work for a long time, in 1898 his interest in the Aix master is renewed, as he understands that Cézanne is in the same situation of inner conflict as himself. On the one hand there is a strong feeling that allows him to preserve the authenticity of the initial emotion, and on the other there is an awareness, before the example of the old masters, of the need to "build," to "realize."
Emblematic of this admiration is the painting Denis made in 1900 under the title Homage to Cézanne. The work depicts the group of Nabis painters admiring a still life by Cézanne in Vollard's gallery. André Gide's immediate purchase of this "manifesto" of the transition between the past (Nabis) and the future Cézanne order confirms the discussions the two had in Rome.
In 1903 he was one of the founders of the Salon d'Automne where he promoted the opening of a section for religious art. The same year he was appointed master at the Académie Ranson, but he would leave teaching in 1919 to create "Les Ateliers d'Art Sacré," attended by many students and intended for the renewal of religious painting. Denis was one of the rare great decorators of his era, capable of handling works of vast surfaces. Among his most important decorative cycles are: the decoration for the Sainte-Croix du Vésinet church (1901-1903); the ceiling and friezes in the Théâtre des Champs Elysées (1912); and the decorations in the League of Nations building in Geneva.
Denis illustrated numerous works of modern (from André Gide to Paul Verlaine) and ancient (Dante Alighieri, St. Francis of Assisi) literature. In 1932 he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts as an honorary consecration of his rich artistic career.
Many anthological exhibitions were dedicated to the artist: in 1922 in Venice; in 1924 at the Musée d'Art Décoratifs in Paris.
In 1932 he participated in the Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts.
During the war period, from about 1941 to 1943, he often took refuge in Thonon-les-Bains, on Lake Geneva, where he executed two decorative cycles, for the basilica and for the Pensionnat de Crête.
Two years after his death, in 1945, the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris organized a retrospective exhibition for him, as did the Musée de l'Orangerie in 1970 to mark the centenary of his birth.
In 1980, a museum dedicated to "Maurice Denis and his time" opened in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
In 2006-2007, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris paid homage to the artist with a major exhibition that included all of the artist's periods; the same exhibition would be shown again at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montréal, and in Italy, at the Mart Museum in Rovereto.
In 2012, the Maurice Denis exhibition, "Nabi aux belles icônes," was presented at the Musée des Impressionnismes in Giverny, with the collaboration of the artist's heirs and the Musée Maurice Denis de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
