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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

More Artwork

More Artwork
L'Imitation de Jésus-Christ, Maurice Denis French
L'Imitation de Jésus-Christ
Illustrator Maurice Denis
Publisher Ambroise Vollard
1903
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century
Young Sailor II, Henri Matisse French, Oil on canvas
Young Sailor II
Henri Matisse
1906
Angel in Landscape, Maurice Denis French, Lithograph
Angel in Landscape
Maurice Denis
1939
Osage Warrior, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin French, Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper, American
Osage Warrior
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1805–7

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