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Springtime

ca. 1894–99
Not on view
Springtime, with its associations of joyful new life, was a source of constant inspiration for Denis. This double-sided canvas presents two studies for his 1899 painting Virginal Spring (private collection), in which young women engage in a purification ritual evocative of Christian baptism and communion. The verdant setting is the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, whose tree-lined glades and dainty wildflowers captivated Denis. He later reprised this composition in his mural series Eternal Spring (Musée départemental Maurice Denis, Saint-Germain-en-Laye), one of his most ambitious attempts at rejuvenating the practice of decorative painting in France.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Springtime
  • Artist: Maurice Denis (French, Granville 1870–1943 Saint-Germain-en-Laye)
  • Date: ca. 1894–99
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 31 3/4 × 38 1/2 in. (80.6 × 97.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of David Allen Devrishian, 1999
  • Object Number: 1999.180.2a,b
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Marthe bringing the creuts, Maurice Denis French, Lithograph printed in green
Marthe bringing the creuts
Maurice Denis
1895
Page IX, woman praying (recto); page 372, a draped figure (verso), proofs from 'L'Imitation de Jésus Christ', Maurice Denis French, Lithograph; proof
Page IX, woman praying (recto); page 372, a draped figure (verso), proofs from 'L'Imitation de Jésus Christ'
Maurice Denis
Ambroise Vollard
1903
Page 268, woman holding a goblet in a landscape (recto); prospectus (verso), proofs from 'L'Imitation de Jésus Christ', Maurice Denis French, Lithograph; proof
Page 268, woman holding a goblet in a landscape (recto); prospectus (verso), proofs from 'L'Imitation de Jésus Christ'
Maurice Denis
Ambroise Vollard
1903
Title page (recto); page 40, a woman crying (verso), proofs from 'L'Imitation de Jésus Christ', Maurice Denis French, Lithograph; proof
Title page (recto); page 40, a woman crying (verso), proofs from 'L'Imitation de Jésus Christ'
Maurice Denis
Ambroise Vollard
1903
Page 139, Christ carrying the cross (recto); page 271, a group of women (verso), proofs from 'L'Imitation de Jésus Christ', Maurice Denis French, Lithograph; proof
Page 139, Christ carrying the cross (recto); page 271, a group of women (verso), proofs from 'L'Imitation de Jésus Christ'
Maurice Denis
Ambroise Vollard
1903

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