Maurice Denis: Quotes about art

Maurice Denis was French painter. Explore interesting quotes on art.

Maurice Denis: 34 quotes0 likes

“Art remains a sure refuge, the hope of a reason in life from now on, and the consoling thought that little beauty manifests itself in our lives, and that we are continuing the work of Creation... Therefore the work of art has merit, inscribed in the marvelous beauty of flowers, of light, in the proportion of trees and shape of waves, and the perfection of faces; to inscribe our poor and lamentable life of suffering, of hope and of thought.”

Maurice Denis

Quote, 24 March 1895, from Denis' Journal; as cited on Wikipedia: Maurice Denis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Denis - reference [16] 1890 - 1920

“Decorative and edifying. That is what I want art to be before anything else.”

Maurice Denis

as cited on Wikipedia: Maurice Denis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Denis - reference [41] Nouvelles théories sur l'art moderne..., 1922

“I believe that art should sanctify nature.”

Maurice Denis

Nouvelles théories sur l'art moderne..., 1922

“Art is no longer a purely visual experience.... it is a work of our intellect triggered by nature.... the imagination again become the queen of our strengths and we liberate our sensitivity.”

Maurice Denis

Nouvelles théories sur l'art moderne..., 1922

“Painting is first of all the art of imitation, and not the servant of some imaginary 'purity”

Maurice Denis

as cited on Wikipedia: Maurice Denis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Denis - reference [42] Nouvelles théories sur l'art moderne..., 1922

“Art is no longer a visual sensation that we gather, like a photograph, as it were, of nature. No, it is a creation of our spirit, for which nature is only the occasion.”

Maurice Denis

Quote of Denis, 1909: from Bouillon 2006, pp. 17-18; as cited on Wikipedia: Maurice Denis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Denis - reference [9] 1890 - 1920

“.. Every work of art is a transposition, a caricature, the passionate equivalent of a sensation received.”

Maurice Denis

Nouvelles théories sur l'art moderne..., 1922

“Art is the sanctification of the nature, of that nature found in everyone who is content to live.”

Maurice Denis

2 Quotes from Denis' 1906 essay 'The Sun'; as cited on Wikipedia: Maurice Denis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Denis - reference [29] 1890 - 1920