Maurice Denis: Quotes about nature

“The common error of us all [in late Impressionism] was to search above all for the light. It would have been better first to search for the Kingdom of God and his justice, that is to say for the expression of our spirit in beauty, and the rest would have arrived naturally.”

Maurice Denis

1890 - 1920

God , Justice , Beauty , Error

“Think of late paintings where Christ is the central figure... Remember the large mosaics of Rome. Reconcile the employment of large-scale decorative means and the direct emotions of nature.”

Maurice Denis

Quote, March 1895, from Denis' Journal; as cited on Wikipedia: Maurice Denis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Denis - reference [23]
1890 - 1920

Nature , Thinking , Christ , Painting

“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.”

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]
In 1889, Denis was captivated by an exposition of works of Paul Gauguin and his friends at the Cafe Volponi, on the edge of the Paris Universal Exposition, that year
1890 - 1920

Color , Nature

“I believe that art should sanctify nature.”

Maurice Denis

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

Art , Nature

“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

Art , Imagination , Nature

“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

Art , Nature

“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

Art , Nature