121 - Landscape, circa 1891

Landscape, circa 1891 Oil on paper mounted on cardboard 30.5 x 33.8 cm Round monogram stamp “MAUD” in the lower left corner Bears the original label from the Galleria del Levante in Milan on the reverse Tear in the paper in the upper right corner Provenance: Maurice Denis Collection Private collection Exhibitions: “Pont-Aven and the Nabis” exhibition, Galleria del Levante, Munich, 1966–1967; then Milan, Rome, no. 15, *Fantastische Landschaft*, ca. 1900 (probably this work), unnumbered (“*Paesaggio fantastico*, ca. 1905”) Exhibition “Maurice Denis,” Städtische Kunstsammlungen Museum Bonn, 1967, no. 5 A certificate confirming the work’s inclusion in the catalog raisonné of Maurice Denis’s works may be issued to the purchaser upon request to the Maurice Denis Committee. Painted around 1891, this Landscape dates from the early years of Maurice Denis’s career and attests to the precociousness with which the young artist embarked on the artistic explorations that would define the Nabi aesthetic. At that time, Denis, then in his early twenties, was fully immersed in the vibrant atmosphere of the group formed around Paul Sérusier, whose *Talisman*, painted in 1888 under the influence of Gauguin, had paved the way for a new conception of painting. Landscape painting, far from being a secondary genre in this artistic venture, was one of its earliest fields of experimentation. “Celebrated for his sacred images, Denis is nonetheless a landscape painter whose consistent and prolific output serves as a counterpoint to his entire body of work. Less well-known, this intimate body of work is characterized by the diversity of its subjects, the freshness of its execution, the boldness of its compositions, and above all, across the decades, a consistency of technique and a coherence of vision that differ from the evolutions of his style. Need we remind you that the legendary starting point of the Nabi aesthetic, Sérusier’s *Le Talisman* (1888, Paris, Musée d’Orsay; see fig. 15), is a landscape painting. ” (Nathalie Bondil in Jean-Paul Bouillon (ed.), Maurice Denis: [Musée d’Orsay exhibition, October 31, 2006–January 21, 2007], Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 2006, p. 125). In this small-format work, nature is already subject to a process of simplification and recomposition. The dark trees, reduced to silhouettes with sharp contours, punctuate the surface of the painting and rise against a succession of planes in shades of green, ocher, brown, and gray. Traditional depth gives way to a condensed space, constructed through layering and color contrasts. A few vivid brushstrokes, placed here and there, enliven this deliberately synthetic vision, while the free and rapid brushwork retains all the freshness of a sketch. This freedom of execution, however, is not a sign of an unfinished painting. On the contrary, it is part of a conscious exploration of the medium’s inherent possibilities. For the Nabis, observed nature is not meant to be reproduced in its contingent appearance: it becomes the starting point for a transposition, an organization of forms and colors capable of conveying a sensation or an inner state. As summarized in an analysis of Denis’s landscapes, the artist “vigorously composes landscapes, radically reframed by juxtaposed planes and large areas of flat color that, through synthesis, form implacable geometries” (ibid., p. 125). Achille Segard’s reflection, echoed by Sylvie Patry, helps clarify the uniqueness of this approach: “[...] We do not consider [Denis] a landscape painter, even though he painted many landscapes.” Through this paradox, Achille Segard (1914, vol. II, p. 196) seeks to emphasize that Maurice Denis breaks free from the rules of a genre understood as the transcription of a feeling for nature, in order to seek the “expression of nature” (Journal, vol. I, p. 11). ” (Sylvie Patry in Jean-Paul Bouillon (ed.), Maurice Denis: [Musée d’Orsay exhibition, October 31, 2006 – January 21, 2007], Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 2006, p. 127). This distinction sheds particular light on the present painting. *Landscape* does not seek to reproduce a site with topographical or atmospheric precision; rather, it captures its essential rhythms. The dark verticals of the conifers, the colorful masses of the terrain, and the supple movements of the vegetation form a veritable network of lines and surfaces. Nature remains perfectly recognizable, but it is subject to a personal vision that prioritizes expressive intensity and decorative balance. “Painted mostly on cardboard (an inexpensive and easy-to-use material), small in size, and executed quickly, these paintings are experimental and exploratory in nature. They are autonomous works [...]” (Ibid., page 127). The pr