The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Procession or Pardon at Perros-Guirec

1891

Maurice Denis

(French, 1870–1943)

France

oil on canvas

Unframed: 55.9 x 46.4 cm (22 x 18 1/4 in.)

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.108

Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

A pardon is a ceremony that occurs on the feast of the patron saint of a church often followed by a procession.

Description

One of the leading artists of a group called the Nabis ("Prophets"), Denis rejected naturalism and materialism out of desire to return spirituality to art. His imaginative compositions emphasize flat, decorative shapes and abstract colors. This painting depicts an annual procession in a small village in Brittany held on the feast day of Saint-Jacques. Young women dressed in white lead the procession; they are followed by married women wearing black and carrying a religious icon.

1891–1940
Edouard Vuillard [1868-1940] Paris, France, gifted from the artist in 1891
by 1970
Private Collection, Paris, France
after 1984
(Galerie Hopkins-Custot, Paris, France)
by 1992
Private Collection, France
2020
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
2020–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Provenance Footnotes
1 According to Maurice Denis, 1870-1943 (Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1994), p. 133, cat. no. 14, the painting remained with Vuillard until his death in 1940.
2 According to Maurice Denis and Anne Distel, Maurice Denis. Orangerie des Tuileries, 3 juin-31 août 1970. (Paris: Ministère d'État, Affaires Culturelles, 1970), cat. no. 60.
3 Galerie Hopkins-Custot was founded in 1984 by Waring Hopkins and Stéphane Custot.
4 According to Anisabelle Berès, Maurice Denis, 1870-1943 (Paris: Huguette Berès, 1992), cat. no. 24.
Lefevre Galleries, London. Vuillard Et Son Kodak. [Exposition] March 5-26. [London]: Lefevre Gallery, 1964. Mentioned: P. 13, no. 28
Musée de l'Orangerie, Maurice Denis, and Anne Distel. Maurice Denis. Orangerie des Tuileries, 3 juin-31 août 1970. Paris, France: Ministère d'État, Affaires culturelles, 1970. Mentioned: no. 60
Maurice Denis. Gemälde, Handzeichnungen, Druckgraphik. Meisterwerke des Nachimpressionismus aus der Sammlung Maurice Denis. (Ausstellung,) Kunsthaus Zürich, 29. Jan-12. März 1972. (Katalog.). Zürich, 1972. Mentioned: P. 41, no. 39
Berès, Anisabelle. Maurice Denis, 1870-1943. Paris, France: Huguette Berès, 1992. Mentioned: no. 24
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Van Gogh Museum. Maurice Denis, 1870-1943. Lyon: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1994. Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 133, no. 14
Cogeval, Guy, Claire Frèches-Thory, and Gilles Genty. Il tempo dei Nabis: Bonnard, Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Vallotton, Sérusier, Ranson, Roussel. Firenze: Artificio, 1998. Reproduced: P. 60; Mentioned: P. 182, no. 19
Stahl, Fabienne. "Maurice Denis." In The Keithley Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art, edited by Heather Lemonedes Brown, 68-73. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2022. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 68-73; Mentioned: p. 261-263
Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).
Maurice Denis. Musee des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France (September 29-December 18, 1994); Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany (January 22-February 4, 1995); Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, United Kingdom (April 21-June 18, 1995).
Maurice Denis. Huguett Beres, Paris, France (1992).
Maurice Denis. Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen, Germany; Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Staten Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark (1971-1972).
Maurice Denis. Orangerie des Tulleries, Paris, France (June 3-13, 1970).
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Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.108