Artwork
L'enfant dans la mare
L'enfant dans la mare is an oil painting by the Les Nabis artist Maurice Denis. It dates from 1911 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
About this work
Overview
Maurice Denis painted L'enfant dans la mare in 1911 with oil on canvas. The work is part of his output during the later phase of the Nabis, a group that merged Symbolist ideas with a decorative, flattened aesthetic. The painting is currently owned by the Kunsthaus Zürich.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas shows a young girl in a vivid red dress and matching hat, caught mid‑run on a rocky shoreline. Her arms are outstretched and her legs bent, suggesting a moment of carefree play. The surrounding landscape, houses, trees on a hillside, and distant mountains, provides a quiet backdrop that frames the child's energetic gesture.
Technique & Style
Denis employs loose, expressive brushwork for the rocks and distant scenery, while the figure is rendered with clearer contours and brighter color blocks. The flat areas of hue and simplified forms echo the influence of Japanese woodcuts and the decorative tendencies of the Nabis, yet the overall composition retains a subtle sense of depth.
History & Provenance
Created shortly after Denis’s turn toward a more classical approach, the painting entered the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich, where it has remained on public view. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s interest in early twentieth‑century French modernism.
Context
At the time of its execution, Denis was navigating between Symbolist spirituality and a renewed interest in classical balance. L'enfant dans la mare illustrates this tension: a seemingly simple, everyday scene is treated with a formal compositional order that hints at deeper contemplation of childhood and nature.
Artist & collection
Artist
Maurice Denis (French:; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer.
