Drying the Linen, or Moonrise at the Priory

1894

Maurice Denis

(French, 1870–1943)

Culture

France, 19th century

Medium

oil on canvas glued to cardboard

Measurements

Unframed: 34.9 x 31.4 x 0.6 cm (13 3/4 x 12 3/8 x 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.109

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Denis began creating religious art in 1894, the year this painting was completed. A priory, as described in the title, is a religious building where monks and nuns live under the leadership of a prior.

Description

This painting depicts the enclosed backyard garden of a former priory—a religious building where monks and nuns live under the leadership of a prior—that Maurice Denis purchased in 1914. He transformed the building into a home for his large family and lived there for the last 30 years of his life. A woman dressed in black hangs linens to dry, so that—according to custom—they will be bleached by moonlight. The full moon casts a golden glow over the entire nighttime scene.