Maurice Denis depicts here a summer holiday scene on the island of Noirmoutier, where he regularly stayed with his family.
The composition is organized according to decorative principles characteristic of the Nabi movement. The trees structure the space in vertical planes, creating a visual rhythm that guides the viewer’s gaze. In the foreground, bathers move through shallow water, while other figures rest in the shade of the trees.
The chromatic palette favors soft harmonies: pinks, pastel blues, and olive greens respond to one another in a colorful symphony. The relatively free and fragmented brushwork reveals the persistent influence of Impressionism, while forming part of a search for formal synthesis specific to the Nabis. Denis applies color in zones, creating effects of Mediterranean light that envelop the scene in a serene and contemplative atmosphere.
Further Information
- Maurice Denis, Summer Day on the Island of Noirmoutier, 1903, Bavarian State Painting Collections – Neue Pinakothek Munich
- Oil on canvas, 56 × 95.7 cm
- https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/de/artwork/ma4dl2E4rO/maurice-denis/sommertag-auf-der-insel-noirmoutier
Maurice Denis (1870-1943), a major figure of the French avant-garde, co-founded the Nabi group in 1888 alongside Paul Sérusier, Pierre Bonnard, and Édouard Vuillard. As much a theorist as a practitioner, he formulated his revolutionary definition as early as 1890: “Remember that a painting, before being a war horse, a nude woman, or some anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order.” This fundamental assertion prefigures the developments of modern art. Denis sought to reconcile pictorial modernity with spirituality, notably for the Church of the Holy Spirit in Paris and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. His work tirelessly explores themes of family, nature, and faith, in a quest for formal and spiritual harmony that makes him a bridge between Symbolism and modernity.
