Artwork Page for Life Becomes Precious, Discreet

Details / Information for Life Becomes Precious, Discreet

Series Title: Love, Amour

Life Becomes Precious, Discreet

1899

Maurice Denis

(French, 1870–1943)
printer

August Clot

(French, 1858–1936)
publisher

Ambroise Vollard

(French, 1867–1939)
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Culture
Medium
color lithograph on wove paper
Measurements
Image: 27.2 x 40.3 cm (10 11/16 x 15 7/8 in.); Sheet: 39.1 x 53 cm (15 3/8 x 20 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the Jane B. Tripp Charitable Lead Annuity Trust and partial gift of Stephen Dull 2021.170.12
Catalogue raisonné
Cailler 118
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Maurice Denis was a devout Catholic and often drew visual connections between his wife, Marthe, the subject of this print series, and the Virgin Mary.

Description

Maurice Denis belonged to the Nabis, a group of artists who came together in 1889 to pursue a radical new style informed by subjective experience and emotion. This print is from a series in which Denis explored his devotion to his wife, Marthe, by depicting her in a variety of settings alongside titles drawn from his own journal. The vague but evocative images were meant to encourage the viewer to draw connections to the theme and meditate on its meaning.
A horizontally oriented color lithograph in muted pastel tones depicts a woman with a light skin tone in profile facing our right. She wears a translucent cream veil and a crown of leaves. To our left, tall green trees stand near a pale blue wall. To our right, white lilies grow in a dark green garden. Cursive text at the bottom reads, "la vie devient précieuse, discrète," with a signature at the bottom right.

Life Becomes Precious, Discreet

1899

Maurice Denis, August Clot, Ambroise Vollard

(French, 1870–1943), (French, 1858–1936), (French, 1867–1939)

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