Maurice DENIS (Granville 1870 - Paris 1943)

The spring, 1941 Oil on cardboard 74,5 X 84,7 cm Signed and dated lower middle Label of the Druet gallery on the back. Provenance: Acquired from the artist by the Galerie Drouant-David, Paris, in 1942 (Carnet de dons et ventes du peintre, CDV No. 1704). Sale, Ancienne collection Léonce Rosenberg et à divers amateurs, Me Rheims, Paris, Galerie Charpentier, June 16, 1959, lot 56. plate XXXIII Granier-Deferre Collection. Private collection, France. Sale, Floralies 2013, Me Pillon, Versailles, 26 May 2013, lot 120, reproduced p.61 Acquired during this sale by the current owner. Private collection, France. Bibliography: Suzanne Barazzetti-Demoulin and Robert Rey [prefacer], Maurice Denis: 25 November 1870-13 November 1943, B. Grasset, Paris: 1945, p. 297 (described). A certificate from Madame Claire Denis, dated June 14, 2007, will be given to the purchaser. The work is registered in the files of the catalog raisonné of the works of Maurice Denis under the index number 941.0002. There is a study for this painting in a 1940 notebook and a large pastel drawing that bears the inscription "Melle Paulette, 94 Bd de Sébastopol". This may refer to the name of the model.