Maurice DENIS (1870-1943) - Lot 164

Maurice DENIS (1870-1943) "Evening procession with candle bearer". 1902 Oil on cardboard mounted on parquet panel, signed 'MAV-D' and dated 1902 top right. 80 x 109 cm Provenance: - 1906, sold by the artist to Ambroise Vollard (Carnet des dons et ventes no. 490) - Ambroise Vollard collection (listed in the 1922 inventory) - November 11-15, 1958, Galerie Fischer sale, Lucerne, no. 2185a - June 19, 1959, Galerie Fischer sale, Lucerne, no. 2004 - May 21, 1989, sale Mes Thierry, Martin et Lannon, Brest, no. 151. - by descent to its current owners Bibliography: Catalogue raisonné of the artist, no. 9020018. The painting will be included in the catalog raisonné currently in preparation under the direction of Marie-Claire Rodriguez and Fabienne Stahl, whom we thank. Brittany plays a key role in the work of Maurice DENIS, where his fascination for the changing light and religious and folk traditions nourish his Nabis aesthetic. It was during a summer spent in Perros-Guirec in 1902, a few years before purchasing the villa "Silencio", that the artist produced a preparatory drawing for the work (in the private collection of a descendant of the artist) that we are presenting for sale. The frieze-like composition, contrasting the simple treatment of the human figures in the foreground with the luminosity of the pure colors of the sky, lends this procession a truly expressive force that caught the eye of Ambroise Vollard, who acquired the painting in 1906.