MAURICE DENIS | Annonciation aux glycines, Orvieto (esquisse)

Estate of the Artist
Madeleine Follain (the artist's daughter; by descent from the above)
Galleria del Levante, Milan
Piccadilly Gallery, London
Mrs D.M. Walker (acquired from the above in 1965)
Thence by descent to the present owner in 1998

The canvasboard is sound and examination under UV light reveals no signs of retouching. The are minor nicks and losses to the canvas at the extreme edges corresponding to frame abrasion and former tacking, all of which are not visible when framed. There is minor shrinkage to the dark green and dark brown pigments at the centre and right of the composition. Overall, this work is in good condition.
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Maurice Denis, along with school friends Pierre Bonnard and Paul Ranson, founded Les Nabis, an offshoot of the Symbolist movement that reacted against the naturalistic tendencies of Impressionism. The quasi-mystical attitude of the Nabis was perfectly suited to Denis’ highly religious nature, who as a child kept a journal to record his admiration for the colours, candle light and incense of the ceremonies at the local church. His travels to Italy further enhanced the Christian influence on his painting, subjecting him to the great Italian frescos of the 14^th and 15^th centuries. Annoncoation aux glycines, painted in Oriveto, exudes a warm and spiritual atmosphere with the lilac wisteria framing the two figures in the centre. The colours employed are flat and patterned and arranged in a certain order, stemming from the art of Paul Gauguin who Denis revered. Comprising a mixture of vibrant and subtle tones, these harmonies demonstrated in the present work became the hallmarks of the Nabis style.

In 1890, when Denis was not yet twenty years old, he wrote in his first published article 'Definition du Néo-traditionnisme' one of the most famous statements about Modern art: ‘Remember that a painting, before it is a war horse, a female nude or some little genre scene, is primarily a flat surface covered with colours arranged in a certain order" (quoted in Thérèse Barruel, "The New Theories", Maurice Denis, exhibition catalogue Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, 1994, p. 116). 



This work will be included in the forthcoming Maurice Denis Catalogue raisonné being prepared by Claire Denis and Fabienne Stahl.