Join The Collection to save, track, and explore works like this.

Maurice Denis — La leçon de chant
Maurice Denis

La leçon de chant

1898

La leçon de chant presents a rare and haunting entry into Maurice Denis's allegorical work of the late 1890s, a period when the Nabis artist was at his most philosophically ambitious. Executed as a color woodcut by Louis Moret after Denis's composition, the print carries the meditative stillness and symbolic weight characteristic of Denis's broader engagement with spiritual and domestic themes. The medium itself, color woodcut on an exceptionally fine Japanese paper, amplifies the delicacy of the image, lending the surface a luminous, almost translucent quality that rewards close examination. At 42 by 26 centimeters, the composition is intimate without being slight, calibrated to draw the viewer into its quiet narrative. What distinguishes this impression above all is its singular documentary status. The sheet is signed in pencil by Maurice Denis himself and annotated to indicate a stated edition of 108 examples, numbered as the first impression, yet exhaustive research has located no other known impressions. Whether the balance of the edition was never completed, dispersed without record, or lost to time remains an open question, but the practical consequence for collectors is clear: this work exists, for all purposes, as a unique object. Its condition is described as perfect, and the choice of Japanese paper, prized for its receptivity to ink and its archival stability, suggests that the production was undertaken with exceptional care from the outset. For collectors drawn to the Nabis circle and to Post-Impressionist works on paper, La leçon de chant occupies an unusual position. It combines documented authorship, Denis's own signature and annotation, with the rarity of an effectively unrecorded composition. Works of this kind, bridging fine printmaking tradition and avant-garde symbolist sensibility, seldom emerge with such clarity of provenance and condition, making this impression a genuinely compelling acquisition for a serious collection.

Medium
Color woodcut
Sheet
Signed
Yes
Location
Sylvan Cole Gallery, Sitges, Barcelona

For Sale — €475

Start the Discussion

Request access to join the discussion

About this work

Maurice Denis, La leçon de chant, 1898

La leçon de chant presents a rare and haunting entry into Maurice Denis's allegorical work of the late 1890s, a period when the Nabis artist was at his most philosophically ambitious. Executed as a color woodcut by Louis Moret after Denis's composition, the print carries the meditative stillness and symbolic weight characteristic of Denis's broader engagement with spiritual and domestic themes. The medium itself, color woodcut on an exceptionally fine Japanese paper, amplifies the delicacy of the image, lending the surface a luminous, almost translucent quality that rewards close examination. At 42 by 26 centimeters, the composition is intimate without being slight, calibrated to draw the viewer into its quiet narrative. What distinguishes this impression above all is its singular documentary status. The sheet is signed in pencil by Maurice Denis himself and annotated to indicate a stated edition of 108 examples, numbered as the first impression, yet exhaustive research has located no other known impressions. Whether the balance of the edition was never completed, dispersed without record, or lost to time remains an open question, but the practical consequence for collectors is clear: this work exists, for all purposes, as a unique object. Its condition is described as perfect, and the choice of Japanese paper, prized for its receptivity to ink and its archival stability, suggests that the production was undertaken with exceptional care from the outset. For collectors drawn to the Nabis circle and to Post-Impressionist works on paper, La leçon de chant occupies an unusual position. It combines documented authorship, Denis's own signature and annotation, with the rarity of an effectively unrecorded composition. Works of this kind, bridging fine printmaking tradition and avant-garde symbolist sensibility, seldom emerge with such clarity of provenance and condition, making this impression a genuinely compelling acquisition for a serious collection.

Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
sheet: 42 x 26 cm
Year
1898
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Sylvan Cole Gallery, United States

More works by Maurice Denis

Collected by

Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Cleveland Museum of Art