Nos âmes, en des gestes lents
Medium
color lithograph on thin yellowish/cream wove paper
Dimensions
image: 28.3 x 40.1 cm (11 1/8 x 15 13/16 in.) sheet: 39.5 x 53 cm (15 9/16 x 20 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.3410
Art Historical Context
Created by Maurice Denis between 1892 and 1899, *Nos âmes, en des gestes lents* ("Our Souls in Slow Gestures") reflects the artist’s deep engagement with Symbolist ideas during his Nabis years Denis, who believed that a painting should be “a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order,” used the lithograph’s soft, rhythmic forms to evoke an inner, spiritual world rather than a literal scene. The poetic title suggests themes of quiet introspection and the subtle language of gesture, hallmarks of the fin-de-siècle search for meaning beyond appearances. Printed in color on thin...