Blessing of a Yacht on the Belon River

1899

Maurice Denis

(French, 1870–1943)

Culture

France

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Unframed: 75 x 80 cm (29 1/2 x 31 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.110

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Location

223 20th Century Avant-Garde

Did You Know?

Denis was an extremely prolific artist who experimented with other art forms. His decorative murals can be viewed in many French churches as well as on the ceiling of the Champs Élysées Theatre in Paris.

Description

Maurice Denis made this painting during the summer of 1899 while vacationing with his family in the coastal village of Le Pouldu in Brittany in northwestern France. Two-thirds of this canvas is filled by the lavender-pink surface of the water, dotted with touches of color that suggest reflections of flags and sails on the Belon River. Local women wearing traditional headdresses observe the scene from the riverbank in the foreground, shaded by trees whose foliage frames the top of the composition.