DENIS, Maurice

The Th�atre des Champs �lys�es was designed by a daring group of artists: architects Van de Velde and the Perret Brothers, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle who carved Isadora Duncan among others in the bas-reliefs on the fa�ade, the painters Maurice Denis and Edouard Vuillard and Ren� Lalique who designed the lights.

The picture shows the model of the cupola decoration.

The Th�atre des Champs �lys�es was designed by a daring group of artists: architects Van de Velde and the Perret Brothers, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle who carved Isadora Duncan among others in the bas-reliefs on the fa�ade, the painters Maurice Denis and Edouard Vuillard and Ren� Lalique who designed the lights.

The picture shows the model of the cupola decoration.

The artist’s first major break came in 1895 when the French writer and Catholic right-wing politician, Baron Denys Cochin (1851-1922), commissioned Denis to paint a mural for his office based on the theme of the legend of St Hubert. Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656-727) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Li�ge in 708 A.D. Legend holds that on a Good Friday morning, while the faithful were in church, Hubert was hunting in the forest. As he pursued a magnificent stag or hart, the animal turned and Hubert was astounded to see a crucifix floating between its antlers. He heard a voice saying: “Hubert, unless thou turnest to the Lord and leadest a holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into Hell.” Hubert dismounted and prostrated himself, and after asking “Lord, what wouldst Thou have me do?” is told, “Go and seek Lambert, and he will instruct you.” Hubert is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers.

Confronted for the first time with a huge format, Denis began a symbolic hunt for imagery that described the struggle between a good spiritual world of light versus an evil material world of darkness. His final mural consists of seven panels with unique compositions that share imagery, colour harmony and decorative motifs. From left to right the panels are (1) Departure, (2) The Release of the Dogs, (3) The Good Go, (4) The Miracle, (5) The Default, (6) The Hellish Hunt, (7) Arrival at the Hermitage.

Four themes interweave the panels: the action and intent of the hunt; the evidence of the sacred and conversion of St Hubert; the misfortune of hunters driven by their passions; and finally, the human family united in peace and prayer. The artist created the frantic race that leads to the crucial moment when the stag is about to be slaughtered. The light of the fire heightens the cruelty and horror of what is at play, as finally, the cross of Christ appears between the antlers of the stag. The last panel ends with a peaceful image of the entire Cochin family in prayer.

This painting rings out like a manifesto. Maurice Denis has assembled a group of friends, artists and critics, in the shop of the art dealer, Ambroise Vollard, to celebrate Paul C�zanne, who is represented by the still-life on the easel. This painting, Fruit Bowl, Glass and Apples had belonged to Paul Gauguin, who is also evoked among the tutelary examples to whom Denis is paying homage. Effectively, a painting by Gauguin and another by Renoir can be made out in the background. Odilon Redon is also given pride of place: he is shown in the foreground on the far left and most of the figures are looking at him. He is listening to Paul S�rusier who is standing in front of him. From left to right, we can recognise Edouard Vuillard, the critic Andr� Mellerio in a top hat, Vollard behind the easel, Maurice Denis, Paul Ranson, Ker-Xavier Roussel, Pierre Bonnard smoking a pipe, and lastly Marthe Denis, the painter’s young wife.

Part of the Nabi generation is gathered here in a composition which follows on from the homage paid by Fantin-Latour in several paintings, especially A Studio at Les Batignolles in the Mus�e d’Orsay. When Maurice Denis exhibited his work in Paris and Brussels in 1901, reactions were sometimes hostile. In his diary, the artist referred to it as “that painting, which still makes the public laugh”. His friend, the writer Andr� Gide, immediately offered to buy it. He did not part with it until 1928 when he gave it to the Mus�e du Luxembourg.

Opened in 1913, the Theatre des Champs Elys�es is one of the most beautiful performing venues in Paris. This building houses, in reality, three theatres - Le Grand Theatre is home to opera, dance, symphonic concerts and recitals, while the more intimate settings of La Com�die and Le Studio host repertory theatre. This Art Deco style building was designed by a daring group of artists: architects Van de Velde and the Perret Brothers, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle who carved Isadora Duncan among others in the bas-reliefs on the fa�ade, the painters Maurice Denis and Edouard Vuillard and Ren� Lalique who designed the lights.

The artistic adventure of the Theatre was marked throughout the century by the presence of prestigious composers, conductors, dancers and singers. This theatre remains noted for the “scandal” of the first performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes whose music and choreography were shocking at that time.

The photo shows the view of the cupola. The model of the decoration is exhibited at the Mus�e d’Orsay, Paris.

In the wake of his first important private decorative commission in 1897 for the Paris h�tel of Baron Denys Cochin, the Legend of St Hubert, Denis was kept busy by a succession of decorative projects for religious and secular settings, notable among them being the enormous decorative scheme on the theme of the History of Music for the Th�âtre des Champs-Elys�es (1912-13; in situ) and the History of the French Arts for the cupola of the Petit Palais (1924-25; in situ).

Opened in 1913, the Theatre des Champs Elys�es is one of the most beautiful performing venues in Paris. This building houses, in reality, three theatres - Le Grand Theatre is home to opera, dance, symphonic concerts and recitals, while the more intimate settings of La Com�die and Le Studio host repertory theatre. This Art Deco style building was designed by a daring group of artists: architects Van de Velde and the Perret Brothers, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle who carved Isadora Duncan among others in the bas-reliefs on the fa�ade, the painters Maurice Denis and Edouard Vuillard and Ren� Lalique who designed the lights.

The artistic adventure of the Theatre was marked throughout the century by the presence of prestigious composers, conductors, dancers and singers. This theatre remains noted for the “scandal” of the first performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes whose music and choreography were shocking at that time.

The photo shows the view of the cupola. The model of the decoration is exhibited at the Mus�e d’Orsay, Paris.

While frequenting the circle of the painter, patron and music publisher Henry Lerolle in the early 1890s, Maurice Denis became friendly with one of his daughters, Yvonne. In 1893 he produced an ex-libris for her, and, more importantly, this triple portrait in 1897, a magnificent reminder of their relationship: behind the main, central portrait, two other images of Yvonne appear in the verdant landscape, with the upper part framed by the dark foliage of two trees.

In its iconographic layout, this triple portrait alludes to the Young Girls by the Sea by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, a painting about which Gustave Kahn wrote: “cannot one see, in these three women who are all similar but nonetheless have different attitudes, the same woman under three physical aspects…the same one at three moments, three acts of her life?” (La Revue ind�pendante, January 1888).

Yvonne Lerolle (born 1877) was the daughter of Henry Lerolle (1848-1929), a French painter, art collector and patron. Debussy dedicated several works for piano to Yvonne, and Renoir painted a picture depicting Yvonne and her sister at the piano.

This stained glass window was executed for the Paris private h�tel of Baron Denys Cochin.

This stained glass window was executed for the Paris private h�tel of Baron Denys Cochin.

This stained glass window was executed for the Paris private h�tel of Baron Denys Cochin.

Denis’s restoration of the 17th-century priory in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which he was able to buy in 1914, involved him in the full range of decorative work implied within the original scope of the Nabi movement, studies for fresco and stained glass as well as designs for church furniture and ornaments. In 1980 the priory was established as the Mus�e D�partemental du Prieur�, devoted to the works of Maurice Denis and the Nabis.

The photo shows the ground floor room with the cycle of panels on the legend of St. Hubert.

In 1914 the artist bought and restored the 17th-century priory in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. In 1980 the priory was established as the Mus�e D�partemental du Prieur�, devoted to the works of Maurice Denis and the Nabis.

Springtime, with its associations of joyful new life, was a source of constant inspiration for Denis. This double-sided canvas presents two studies for his 1899 painting Virginal Spring (private collection), in which young women engage in a purification ritual evocative of Christian baptism and communion. The verdant setting is the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, whose tree-lined glades and dainty wildflowers captivated Denis. He later reprised this composition in his mural series Eternal Spring (Mus�e D�partemental du Prieur�, Saint-Germain-en-Laye), one of his most ambitious attempts at rejuvenating the practice of decorative painting in France.

The picture shows Departure, panel 1 from the series of 7 with unique compositions that share imagery, colour harmony and decorative motifs.

The picture shows The Release of the Dogs, panel 2 from the series of 7 with unique compositions that share imagery, colour harmony and decorative motifs.

The picture shows The Good Go, panel 3 from the series of 7 with unique compositions that share imagery, colour harmony and decorative motifs.

The picture shows The Miracle, panel 4 from the series of 7 with unique compositions that share imagery, colour harmony and decorative motifs.

The picture shows The Default, panel 5 from the series of 7 with unique compositions that share imagery, colour harmony and decorative motifs.

The picture shows The Hellish Hunt, panel 6 from the series of 7 with unique compositions that share imagery, colour harmony and decorative motifs.

The picture shows Arrival at the Hermitage, panel 7 from the series of 7 with unique compositions that share imagery, colour harmony and decorative motifs.

The success of the Legend of St Hubert mural won Denis the admiration of Ivan Morozov (1871-1921), who in 1907 commissioned him to create a spectacular private decorative mural. As one of the most famous art collectors in Russia, Morozov’s sphere of interest encompassed French art, which included works by Paul Gauguin, Paul C�zanne and Vincent van Gogh.

Securing a major commission from such a collector was an important marker in Denis’s career. He created ten panels entitled The Story of Psyche, for the music room of Morozov’s mansion in Moscow. The monumental canvases depicting episodes in the adventures of Eros, the god of love, and his beloved, the mortal maiden Psyche, a tale from the novel Metamorphoses written in the second century by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (c. 124-170). In these canvases Denis moves away from his earlier Nabi icons, instead of using Greek mythology to tell his story of Christian humanity.

First presented in Paris in 1909, before being installed in Moscow, the complete work today is part of the collection at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. This series of canvases show the work of a mature artist in his development of style, imagery and colour harmony across all canvases.

The photo shows a reconstruction of the music room interior of the mansion of Ivan Morozov in the Hermitage Museum.

The monumental canvases depicting episodes in the adventures of Eros, the god of love, and his beloved, the mortal maiden Psyche, were created for the music room of Ivan Morozov’s mansion in Moscow.

In panel 1 of the series, we see three princesses in a Grecian kingdom - Psyche and her two sisters. All three sisters are beautiful but Psyche, who stands in the centre of the canvas, is the most beautiful and garners the most attention. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, becomes jealous of Psyche and commands her son, Eros, to put a spell on her. Eros is represented flying over the head of Psyche in the top right corner.

The monumental canvases depicting episodes in the adventures of Eros, the god of love, and his beloved, the mortal maiden Psyche, were created for the music room of Ivan Morozov’s mansion in Moscow. They are exhibited now in the reconstructed music room in The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Panel 2 of the series shows Eros employing a Zephyr to gently lift Psyche to her new home, a beautiful palace on an island in the mountains.

The monumental canvases depicting episodes in the adventures of Eros, the god of love, and his beloved, the mortal maiden Psyche, were created for the music room of Ivan Morozov’s mansion in Moscow. They are exhibited now in the reconstructed music room in The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

In panel 3 of the series, we see Psyche with the lamp raised to view her husband as not a monster but Eros. Startled Eros awakes and flies out of the window.

The monumental canvases depicting episodes in the adventures of Eros, the god of love, and his beloved, the mortal maiden Psyche, were created for the music room of Ivan Morozov’s mansion in Moscow. They are exhibited now in the reconstructed music room in The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

In panel 4 of the series, Venus gives Psyche four tasks to accomplish. For the first three tasks, Psyche receives the help she needs and is able to overcome the evil vengeance of Venus. Venus’s next task requires Psyche to go into Hell to ask Persephone, wife of Hades, for a box of magic makeup. Psyche overcomes her fears and retrieves the box. Though she was warned to not look inside the box under any circumstances she was unable to restrain herself from peeking inside. To her surprise, there was nothing inside but darkness, which puts her into a deep sleep. Denis paints Psyche and Eros in the shadows with Venus standing triumphant in the light.

The monumental canvases depicting episodes in the adventures of Eros, the god of love, and his beloved, the mortal maiden Psyche, were created for the music room of Ivan Morozov’s mansion in Moscow. They are exhibited now in the reconstructed music room in The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

In panel 5 of the series, in the presence of the Gods Jupiter bestows immortality on Psyche and celebrates her marriage to Eros. Denis shows the happy marriage ceremony with Eros and Psyche on either side of Jupiter.

The monumental canvases depicting episodes in the adventures of Eros, the god of love, and his beloved, the mortal maiden Psyche, were created for the music room of Ivan Morozov’s mansion in Moscow. They are exhibited now in the reconstructed music room in The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Panels 6 and 7 of the series show scenes of the now immortal Psyche going to live with the gods.

The monumental canvases depicting episodes in the adventures of Eros, the god of love, and his beloved, the mortal maiden Psyche, were created for the music room of Ivan Morozov’s mansion in Moscow. They are exhibited now in the reconstructed music room in The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Panels 6 and 7 of the series show scenes of the now immortal Psyche going to live with the gods.