G. Francesco Gonzaga Oil on Canvas Italy 1961 - The Basket of Figs 1961

Sur le Canapé d'Argent pâle 1911

Color lithograph on vellum paper. The title at the bottom left. On the passepartout the name and the wording "original lithographie". It is planche n.10 of the "Amour" series, created in 1899 by the French artist and inspired by the love poems Denis wrote for his future wife, Marthe Meurier. Some replicas of the initial series were made, of which the one on tissue paper dated 1911. Maurice Denis, French painter, was artistically formed in coincidence with the birth of the symbolist movement that strongly influenced him, imposing himself for his simplicity and for his philosophy of a art that was a synthesis between the external world and the artist's spirituality. In his earliest works, the pictorial style was naturalist and neo-impressionist, but over time tended towards a pure decorativism, characterized by areas of flat color and clear outlines. In 1888, at the Julian Academy in Paris, Maurice Denis founded with Paul Sérusier, Pierre Bonnard and Paul Ranson, the group of painters Nabis (Prophets), a group that drew on the works and poetics of Paul Gauguin in their aesthetic ideals. , for the overcoming of Impressionist naturalism through a return to primitive and Japanese art. Of the Nabis meetings, usually held in the editorial office of the magazine "Revue Blanche" or at the Ranson Academy, Denis particularly appreciated the mystical climate, the esoteric jargon and the nickname that each painter received from the group: Denis was called "the Nabi by the nice pictures". As "Nabi" Maurice Denis painted intimate, enigmatic pictures and the themes of his painting, of a religious nature or situations of everyday life, were brought into an ideal and unreal dimension, in an atmosphere of warm and serene intimacy, obtained with an extremely delicate feature. A constant in his life was the profession of the Catholic faith, which always had a priority role for him. He received numerous commissions for the decoration of churches and this made him return to the great tradition of mural painting by performing solemn frescoes of monumental structure, inspired by a literary Catholicism. The religious fervor led Maurice Denis to found, in 1919, the Ateliers d'Art Sacré, dedicating a lot of time to prayer, so much so that he became the tertiary of San Domenico, without isolating him from the world, for which he participated in the social life of the time. In addition to his vast production as a painter, Denis was a great draftsman and illustrator. Until his death Maurice Denis continued to paint in a modern interpretation of the great ancient painting, supported by his strong artistic vein, continuously fueled by his travels, many of them in Italy, which led him to come into direct contact with the Pre-Raphaelites and the neoclassicals.