Executed in 1925, this lithograph represents Maurice Denis working at the height of his graphic maturity, distilling the meditative quality for which his imagery became celebrated into a composition of quiet, almost sacred stillness. The subject of solitude, a recurring preoccupation across Denis's career, is rendered here with the restrained lyricism that defined the Nabi aesthetic he helped shape decades earlier, translated now into the considered language of printmaking. The motif, measuring 19 by 26.5 centimetres on a sheet of 33 by 50 centimetres, possesses an intimacy that draws the eye inward, inviting sustained contemplation rather than immediate spectacle. What elevates this impression significantly above the standard edition is its status as a first-state proof, one of only 25 examples pulled before the addition of the monogram in the stone, from a total edition of 150. This distinction places the work among the earliest and most resolved impressions, valued by print collectors for the particular freshness of inking and clarity of line present before the plate underwent further reworking. The impression carries the dry stamp of the Galerie des Peintres-Graveurs in Paris, recorded under Lugt 1057b, confirming its provenance within one of the period's most respected venues for original printmaking. It is pencil-signed and numbered in Roman numerals by the artist, satisfying the rigorous documentation collectors of works on paper rightly require. Catalogued as Verney et Lemaresquier 26, it sits securely within the established scholarly record of Denis's printed work.