Allegory
1899
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Maurice Denis
Maurice Denis (French: ; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer.
See the richer artist page1899
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Allegory is a 1899 by Maurice Denis, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in a long dress sits on a bench under trees, her face calm and turned away. Behind her, a man in a dark suit stands with his back to us, almost blending into the shadows. This painting is part of a series where the artist, Maurice Denis, used his wife as a model. The scenes feel personal, like pages from a private journal. The titles come from his own diary, making the images feel like quiet, shared secrets. If you like this, look up *sfumato*—a technique that softens edges, giving paintings a dreamy, hazy look.
Maurice Denis belonged to the Nabis, a group of artists who came together in 1889 to pursue a radical new style informed by subjective experience and emotion. This print is from a series in which Denis explored his devotion to his wife, Marthe, by depicting her in a variety of settings alongside titles drawn from his own journal. The vague but evocative images were meant to encourage the viewer to draw connections to the theme and meditate on its meaning.
Maurice Denis was a devout Catholic and often drew visual connections between his wife, Marthe, the subject of this print series, and the Virgin Mary.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Maurice Denis (French: ; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer.
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