Style Imitating Art: “The Muses” by Maurice Denis

Style Imitating Art…

Welcome to Style Imitating Art which comes from Salazar, Shelbee, and me. You can think of this series as fashion meets art museum! SIA challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Salazar is this week’s curator with this gorgeous piece of art.. I hope you enjoy this post, the information, and my interpretation.

How it works…

Every other Monday one of us selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. We then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, we share our outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Salazar chose this week’s art work for this round of Style Imitating Art. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. Please send your photo to Salazar by Tuesday, October 8th by 10 pm EST. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

About the artist…

Maurice Denis was born on November 25, 1870 in Granville, Manche which is a coastal town in the Normandy region of France. His parents were both of modest means. His father worked at a railroad station while his mother worked as a seamstress. After marrying in 1865, they moved to Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the Paris suburbs. Denis had no siblings. Early in his life, he became interested in art as well as religion. He wrote in his journal about the colors, candle light, and incense of ceremonies at the local church. When he visited the Louvre, he discovered Fra Angelico, Raphael, and Botticelli.

A little more…

At one point, Denis was a student at the prestigious Lycée Condorcet where he excelled at philosophy. He left in 1887 and enrolled in Académie Julian, a private art school, in 1888 in preparation for the entrance exam to École des Beaux-Arts. He passed the exam in July 1888 and then passed another in November to receive his baccalaureate in philosophy. While at the Académie Julian, Denis, along with several others, formed a group called the Nabis which is taken from the Hebrew for “Prophet.” The other members included Paul Sérusier, Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Paul Ranson, Ker-Exavier Roussel, and Hermann-Paul. I’ve tried wrapping my head around what their beliefs were, but I just can’t seem to grasp it. Here is an article with more information about it.

Still more…

As far as a specific genre of art, it seems Denis dabbled (pardon the pun) a bit in lots of different types. In the beginning, he considered Seurat’s neoimpressionism but thought it too scientific. Then, in 1889, Denis saw an exposition of works by Gaugin and others at the Cafe Volponi. He wrote:

“What amazement, followed by what a revelation! In place of windows opening on nature, like the impressionists, these were surfaces which were solidly decorative, powerfully colorful, bordered with brutal strokes, partitioned.”

Gaugin’s brightly colored forms were reflected in “Taches du soleil sur la terrrace” and “Solitude du Christ.” By the end of the 1880s, the Nabis were pretty much done though their theories and ideas influenced Bonnard and Vuillard as well as Henri Matisse. Next, Denis turned to the Japanese for inspiration. In 1890, a retrospective of Japanese prints appeared at the École des Beaux-Arts. But, Denis had already been studying illustrations from the catalog Japan Artistique published by Siegfried Bing. He began to paint in a wider format with stylized composition and decoration. In August, 1890, Denis published an essay in the review, Art et Critique, saying, “Remember that a picture, before being a battle horse, a female nude or some sort of anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order.” Hippolyte Taine had earlier written, “A painting is a colored surface, in which the various tones and various degrees of light are placed with a certain choice; that is its intimate being” so Denis’ words weren’t exactly groundbreaking. But, it was Denis’ quote that was remembered and repeated. And, with those words, modernism was in its beginning stages.

Even more…

You may have noticed the flatness of our art work. There is no effort to give the appearance of depth through light or perspective. Denis was one of the first artists to utilize this flatness. Modernism was based in the thought:

“that affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environment with the aid of practical experimentation, scientific knowledge, or technology. From this perspective, modernism encourages the re-examination of every aspect of existence. Modernists analyze topics to find the ones they believe to be holding back progress, replacing them with new ways of reaching the same end (source).”

In October 1890, Denis met Marthe Meurier. The two married on June 12, 1893 after a long romance, recorded in great detail in Denis’ journal. Marthe appears in many of his artistic endeavors, including painted fans and other decorative works. He saw her as an “idealized figure representing purity and love.”

A real Renaissance man…

Though not really a man of the Renaissance, it seems there wasn’t much Denis didn’t attempt as an artist. He went on to design wallpapers, stained glass, tapestries, lamp shades, screens, and fans, all in the Art Nouveau theme. Denis painted decorative panels for the office of Baron Cochin, together called The Legend of St. Hubert, and painted between 1895 and 1897. An extremely religious and faithful man, Denis’ work in Cochin’s office was the site of mass as celebrated by the Archbishop of Paris in 1907. Denis created lithographs, woodblock prints, and illustrations for books. Other decorative works were the creation of a large mural panel for the music room of Ivan Morozov’s Moscow mansion. Denis created additional panels for this room. He made enough money from this project to buy a seaside home in Brittany. Another project included the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées which was in the Art Deco style. Denis created the art work for the cupola.

A skosh more…

Denis truly was a religious man and spent many of his later years decorating and restoring churches, including the Église Notre-Dame du Raincy, the chapel Church of Saint-Louis in Vincennes, the windows of the chapel of La Clarté, and and the church of Thonon. Denis and George Desvallières founded the Ateliers d’Art Sacré (Workshops of Sacred Art) on February 5, 1919. This was part of a large movement in Europe to reconcile the church with modern civilization. After the devastation of churches during World War I, the Ateliers created art for those churches.

“The most important church decorated by the Ateliers was the Saint-Esprit, Paris in Paris, finished in 1934. The murals and frescoes in the interior were painted by George Desvallières, Robert Poughéon, Nicolas Untersteller and Elizabeth Branly. The church was decorated by members of the Ateliers d’Art Sacré, showing the history of the church militant and the history of the church triumphant from the 2nd to the 20th century. To ensure unity in the decorations the architect imposed a standard height for all the people depicted, and red as the color of all the backgrounds. The central theme of the paintings is “the history of the church militant and the history of the church triumphant from the 2nd to the 20th century. Denis painted two of the major works, the Altarpiece and another large work beside it. The church murals that he painted were strongly influenced by the Renaissance art he had seen in churches in Italy, particularly the work of Giotto and Michelangelo. He wrote in 1922, ‘The sublime is to approach the subject or wall with an attitude that is grand, noble, and in no way petty (source).'”

Finally…

In November, 1943, Denis was involved in an automobile accident in Paris. He died from the injuries he had suffered. The actual date of his death is unknown as it has been reported as the 2nd, 3rd, or 13th. Denis married twice. His first wife, Marthe, died in 1919. The couple had seven children. Marthe was the subject of many of Denis’ works. He painted a chapel dedicated to her memory. On February 22, 1922, he married Elisabeth Graterolleore, one of his models for the cupola in Paris. They had two children. She also is in many of his paintings, sometimes right beside Marthe! Denis was a tertiary member of the Roman Catholic Church which meant he was a member of a lay religious order. He joined the Action Française, a traditional and nationalist movement. He left it in 1927 after it was condemned by the Vatican following its movement to the far right.

A little extra…

I’m pretty sure this is AI generated because pronunciations vary, but it’s a short little video about Denis.

About the art work…

“Les Muses” is oil on canvas and measures 171.5 x 137.5cm (67.5 x 54.1”). It was painted in 1893. The trio of women at the front of the painting all have the same face…Marthe’s! There are a total of nine distinguishable muses in the painting, but if you look closely at the middle, you can just make out another seated muse. The painting is owned by the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. It is not currently on display.

“In the guise of women dressed in contemporary clothing, Maurice Denis updates a subject taken from classical mythology – the muses who inspire the arts and sciences. But he transforms the theme profoundly, stripping the muses of the traditional attributes which allow them to be identified.

In the group of three women sitting in the foreground we can see the figure of Marthe, whom the painter married in June 1893 and who inspired his art until her death. In a device common in Denis’ work, she is shown twice: in profile in red and from the back, sitting on the chair. Maurice Denis has set the scene on the terrace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the town where he lived all his life. The century-old chestnut trees give the composition rhythm and decorative power. The regular strokes of the tree trunks are a pretext for a play of vertical lines which contrast with the curves and ornamental arabesques of the branches, the leaves strewn on the ground, and the patterns and folds of the dresses. The graphic play of lines and interlacing is intensified by the unreal, autumnal colours, painted in areas of flat colour and neatly outlined. The flattened space is that of a “sacred wood”, the setting for a revelation and the figures’ mysterious communication with nature and supernatural powers. An enigmatic tenth muse in the background (while traditionally there are only nine), with one arm raised to the light of the sky, convinces us of that (source).”

My interpretation…

This Kantha Bae dress has appeared on the blog a couple of times. My first impression of this painting was lots and lots of brown. But, when I looked more closely, I realized there were reds, greens, and yellows and not a lot of brown! I thought this dress works well with the many different shades of burgundy and gold. As you can see, it’s much shorter in the front and quite a bit longer in the back. I added my leather obi to add some structure and shape to the dress as well as to shorten it. I actually think there are quite a few of the colors in the painting reflected in the dress.

The Lewk!

There is a smattering of green in the painting so I decided to pull that in with my accessories. These are the Waterlily boots by L’Artiste. I have looked and looked and can’t find them except for resale sites. I don’t link to those because I’m never sure if they’re the genuine article. The green necklace and earrings are from J Jill. I think the beaded bracelet is from eBay. And, yep, all the greens are different, but that’s how nature is, right?

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I have to admit there was a lot about this guy I just plain didn’t understand. OK, it wasn’t him as much as the different artistic movements. It’s amazing to see how one person can be involved in so many different artistic genres yet remain true to himself. One of the things I didn’t mention was that this extremely religious artist also had no problems painting nudes and did so quite regularly! So, can we talk? What do you think of Denis’ quote about art being basically a flat plain with colors put on top of it? Do you understand Nabis? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.

Don’t forget…

If you want to be included in the Style Imitating Art round up, send Salazar your photo by 10:00 pm EST Tuesday, October 8th. Photos of everyone participating will appear on her blog on Wednesday, October 9th! I had never heard of Maurice Denis before this Style Imitating Art challenge. But, after looking at his work, I’m impressed by the evolution of his style. If you’re interested in join us, consider all of your options…the colors, the lines, the dynamic colors and figures. You could have lots of fun creating a look! Come on, give it a try! I think you’ll love it!

Thank you!

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

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Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

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